I don't know where the final numbers on the Latino vote will finally come down, but be advised that the "44 percent" thing has been doubted by conservatives from the start. In fact, the only writers I know of who persist with it are former members of the Kerrion.

In any event, the actual numbers are very close to that. And Bush enjoyed an increase of support from many different groups (married women, Jews, blacks, Latinos, et al.), regardless of how modest.

The lesson to be learned? This is a critical juncture for the Latino-Democratic relationship. All the momentum is on the side of the GOP, so what will the Democrats do? I don't see a winning strategy to keep them in your column in the numbers you're going to need.

Why is it that with all this mis(taken) information and the exit poll vs. final vote discrepancies one has to live in a stellar democracy like the Urkraine before anyone is taken seriously for questioning the legitamacy of this?

Now don't get me wrong and before I get people telling me to take off my tinfoil hat, I for one have already moved on and accepted (begrudgingly)Bush as pResident. But it doesn't mean I think the last election was totally on the up and up in the least. This is a crew that had no problem lying us into a War of Choice, for some reason I think that cheating to win an election wouldn't be too far fetched.

I haven't seen any numbers yet, but I would hope latinos in California would have been at least 80% for Kerry.
And as is well known, New Mexico has a different kind of hispanic - they've been there since 1599, and have their own kind of 'conservatism'.

Nothing can make me believe that a majority of voters wanted that imbecile in for another four years. It just doesn't add up.