In his efforts to reach out to the American Hispanic community, former Republican leader Newt Gingrich sent out a greeting in Spanish to mark Cinco de Mayo, Mexico's Independence Day. The message came from "El Hablador de la Casa," which Gingrich's staff thought meant "Speaker of the House," but in fact translates more precisely as "Big Mouth of the House." Accurate, perhaps, but not great politics.
U.S. President George W. Bush's knowledge of Spanish may not be very good, but he is certainly not guilty of any similar gaffes. His recent radio address in English and Spanish to commemorate Cinco de Mayo was a serious attempt to connect with Latinos. Yet though the potential for political benefits through language are clearly there, there is also the possibility of a backlash.
Sonia Colin, a Bush campaign spokeswoman, admitted during the 2000 presidential election that he was "pretty knowledgeable" in Spanish but not "completely fluent." The president did study Spanish in high school and college and honed it in the Texan oil fields, but he could probably not communicate at all in a Spanish-language debate. The Spanish wire service EFE reports that Bush speaks Spanish "poorly" but with great confidence. And columnist Molly Ivins went so far as to say that Bush is neither bilingual nor bicultural, but bi-ignorant.