Velazquez: Obama Needs Clinton's Latinos

Before Hillary Clinton’s speech last night at Baruch College, Representative Nydia Velazquez waded into a thicket of reporters and explained why she thinks Barack Obama should choose Clinton as a running mate.

“The Latino community sees her as a Hispanic leader,” Velazquez said. “And for whatever reason, it seems to me that there is a problem of connecting with Latino voters from the Obama camp.”

I asked her why she that was.

“Even in the early primaries, to the last primary that was conducted in Puerto Rico, she won overwhelmingly," she said. "In Arizona, 63 percent. In New York, 72 percent. In Puerto Rico, it was overwhelming. In Texas [too]. So, something wasn’t working, or is not working and I think she will be able to help him in that regard.”

I asked Velazquez if she thought Clinton would be better able to connect to Latino voters than, say, Bill Richardson.

“Well, Bill Richardson is not running for president," she responded. "And after Bill Richardson endorsed Obama, he lost the support in the Latino community. She continued to win.”

"After Bill Richardson endorsed Obama, show me one state where Obama won the Latino vote," she said. "That’s the point.”