As the Clinton campaign finally begins to read the writing on the wall — "Get Out" — and the race for president turns to vice presidential picks, Sens. John McCain and Barack Obama should try to avoid selecting running mates who might alienate Hispanic voters.

In the race to determine which states will be blue or red, those that are now purple are the ones that really matter, and they happen to be states largely populated by Latinos. Given the expected close Electoral College race in these key swing states where Latinos live, the Hispanic vote will be crucial in November, and the vice presidential pick could make a huge difference.

If either Obama or McCain were to pick a running mate who has a record of bashing illegal immigrants and offending even naturalized U.S. citizens, he would be gambling with the support he needs from Latino voters in states such as Nevada and Florida.

As in the past, a majority of Latinos will vote for the Democratic nominee. But if Republicans can get at least 40 percent of the Hispanic vote — as some have in the past — that may be enough to win the presidency.

Not surprisingly, some of the politicians who openly are seeking the vice presidential nod are the ones who would be considered radioactive by many Latino voters.

In the Hispanic community, it has been widely said that McCain, given his positive track record on immigration and other issues concerning Latinos, was the only Republican who could compete for the Hispanic vote in November. None of the other GOP contenders, most of whom pandered to right-wing extremists and used fear tactics to create xenophobia that affects all Latinos, had any chance of winning 40 percent of the Hispanic vote.

But what happens if McCain picks one of those radioactive Republicans as a running mate?

Could a McCain-Romney ticket be successful in swing states where Latinos live? Mitt Romney made illegal immigrants the scapegoats of his campaign for president. Describing him as radioactive among Latinos voters is an understatement.

What about a McCain-Huckabee ticket? Mike Huckabee, who came very close to declaring his candidacy for vice president on NBC's "Meet the Press" Sunday, began his presidential bid by calling for compassion for illegal immigrants and finished it by pledging never to give them any sort of amnesty. He also showed a tremendous lack of knowledge about Latinos by constantly arguing that legal immigrants also favor a harsh crackdown on their own relatives, friends and neighbors who are here illegally.

And Rudy Giuliani, who turned his back on the immigrants he once defended, also could be problematic for McCain, especially because the former New York mayor even pandered at an English-only restaurant in Philadelphia.

Although even McCain has modified his position on illegal immigration — he now is pledging to secure the borders before implementing a legalization program — Romney, Huckabee and Giuliani went much further to appease anti-immigrant GOP extremists and have created unprecedented animosity toward their party in the Hispanic community. Bringing them back into the presidential race would be a huge mistake.

Although the Democrats have fewer anti-immigrant zealots to choose from, Obama also has to be careful not to select a running mate such as Sen. James Webb of Virginia, who is obviously interested in the vice president's job. Webb, who promotes himself as a grass-roots populist who speaks for middle-class America, voted against comprehensive immigration reform. Before that legislation was defeated, Webb had introduced a "middle-ground" amendment that easily could have been written by a Republican.

Webb's amendment was unrealistic and inhumane. It created a "path to legalization," but only for a portion of the 12 million illegal immigrants in the country and only after they returned to their homelands to apply for legal entry. As if that is not enough to convince immigrant voters that they don't need friends such as Webb, he also voted to make English the nation's official language, supporting the effort to deny immigrants access to bilingual ballots and some government services in their native languages.

There are other Democrats like Webb and other Republicans like Romney, Huckabee and Giuliani who would weaken the Obama and McCain campaigns among Latinos and other immigrants. Of course, there are Hispanic politicians such as New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson for the Democrats and Sen. Mel Martinez, R-Fla., who easily could boost the Latino vote for their respective parties. But because none of those Latinos appears to be on anyone's short list for vice president, the question now is whether Obama and McCain are smart enough to avoid the radioactive contenders.

To find out more about Miguel Perez and read features by other Creators Syndicate writers and cartoonists, visit the Creators Syndicate Web page at www.creators.com.

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