CAMERON: At a news conference in his hometown of Phoenix, Arizona, Republican presidential candidate John McCain marked the popular Mexican holiday Cinco de Mayo with a direct plea to Latino voters, saying when it comes to the nation's largest and fastest-growing minority and its potential to be the swing vote in November, he connects.
McCAIN: I know the respect for the family, the advocacy for pro-life. I know the small-business aspect of our Hispanic voters. Everything about our Hispanic voters is tailor-made to the Republican message.
CAMERON: McCain unveiled a Spanish language campaign site on the Web, then took a shot at his own party. As the primary Republican sponsor of comprehensive immigration reform in recent years, he complained that the GOP's reputation among Latinos plummeted because conservatives cried amnesty and defeated McCain's proposed guest worker and path to citizenship plans for illegal aliens.
McCAIN: I think the tenor of the debate has harmed our image amongst Hispanics.
CAMERON: Undaunted, McCain announced that if elected, in January he'll begin finalizing border security, then immediately launch the guest worker program and path to citizenship that many in his party oppose.
McCAIN: We must secure the borders, and the border-state governors will then certify that the borders are secured. Then we have a temporary worker program with tamper-proof biometric documents, and we address the issue of the people who have come here illegally.
CAMERON: Most Democrats, including [Sen. Barack] Obama and [Sen. Hillary] Clinton, voted for McCain's immigration reforms, which were co-sponsored by liberal Massachusetts Democratic Senator Ted Kennedy [MA].
With a decades-old reputation for irking his own party and being, quote, the Democrats' favorite Republican, McCain scoffed at Clinton and Obama's recent campaign trail emphasis on their bipartisan outreach.
McCAIN: I will match my record for reaching across the aisle and working with the other party with them any day of the week. It's far more extensive and far more substantive.
CAMERON: After he clinched his party's nomination, many said job one for McCain would be unifying a fractured GOP uneasy with his collaboration with Democrats. But now he wears that cooperation on his sleeve and promises to tackle issues like immigration and global warming with approaches that are clearly intended to attract independents more than conservatives.