CNN 2012-06-25

 I want to look at how this might impact the Latino vote. Joined by chief national correspondent John King. So, John, the president says it's the right thing to do from a policy perspective. What about the politics on the ground? 

 
Well, they certainly hope it helps, Anderson. Let's start just by looking. If you look at our electoral map right now, these seven states that are yellow or gold, they are our tossup states, true tossups. The president has a slight advantage in the electoral college. If he can win just a few of these, he's the next president of the United States. He gets four more years or so. Where might it matter? Let's switch maps and take a look. You certainly know one of the huge states where the Latino vote matters is Nevada. The president won it last time. It's a tossup this time. Look at this - 26 percent plus of the vote are Latinos. That's up a little bit from last time around. And this is a wow. President Obama won more than 75 percent of the vote last time. Nevada's economy is tough. The president needs every last one of those votes again this time. That's one place where the White House thinks frankly 1 this helps them politically. Let's move on from Nevada and bring in another one. Obviously, Florida, obvious the Latino population matters. Again, Obama won it last time. Anderson, it is a very tough state for the president this time. More than 20 percent of the vote is Latino, up again by a bigger slice than Nevada from 2008. This is a tougher state for the president. It's a more complicated Latino vote. Conservatives tend to be more Cuban. You have a lot of Puerto Ricans, as well as the Mexican and South American. Look at this. The president probably needs to do better than that, better than 57 percent this time, so again another state to watch. The White House thinks it will help in battleground Florida. I will give you one more example of a smaller state where the slice of the Latino population is smaller where we can watch this play out. Virginia, the president carried it last time. Just 8 percent of the vote is Latino. But look how much it grew from 2008, Anderson, 1.9 percent. The president got two-thirds of the vote last time in Virginia. If he can match those numbers again, he can probably keep Virginia in play this time. That's another fascinating state to watch in a place where even some Romney advisers 2 tell you today's announcement probably helps the president some. 
 
Well, is there anything Romney can do to try to close the gap among Latinos? 
 
It will be interesting that both the president and Governor Romney appear at the same event, a leadership conference of Latinos, next week. Let's see if Governor Romney changes his position at all. But here's what they think. Number one, Governor Romney will argue the economy. And he will try to move this away from immigration to economic issues. But number two, if you talk to the Romney people, they think one reason, Anderson, the president is doing this is because he needs to gin up the base, right? He needs to get all the base voters out, because they think he's hurting among white working-class voters that could flip 3 some other states. So, we just mentioned, I'm gonna move back to this map. We just mentioned Nevada, Florida, Virginia as states where this might help. That's because the Romney camp calculation, they think that maybe the president's worried about Wisconsin, if you take that away. Maybe he's worried about Michigan and maybe he's worried about Pennsylvania. So he's looking at these other states. If you take those states away, look at that, Governor Romney is in play. So, what the Romney campaign sees is a tradeoff, the president making a play for more Latino voters because they think they see more and more trouble, the Obama campaign, among white working-class voters in the Rust 4 Belt. Everything in politics is about math and tradeoffs, Anderson. 
 
Yes. Interesting. John, thanks. 
 
Time for "The RidicuList," and tonight we're adding all you foul 5-mouthed punks. That's right: I had it with all your cursing, and so has the town of Middleborough, Massachusetts. Now, you remember the other night we told you about a Colorado homeowners group trying to ban a three-year-old from drawing in chalk on the sidewalk. Well, folks in Middleborough must have been watching, because they have raised the bar in the grumpy old men Olympics. Townspeople have voted to impose a $20 fine on anyone who swears in public. And by anyone they mean you, you pesky kids. Concerned citizens say that vulgar teens are a big problem downtown and are making life, pardon my language, darn unpleasant. 
 
It's intimidating 6 to my customers, to the people who are out here downtown, and I think that, I think it's a good thing that they're doing something to try to curb 7 it. 
 
I don't think it will solve the problem, but I think it will make them understand what is acceptable behavior and what is not. 
 
I got to be honest: I'm sympathetic to that. Residents probably have a point. Groups of cursing teens can't be good for business, and it's upsetting to hear what some kids scream on the street right in front of little kids or others. Who wants to hear that? But don't police officers have better things to be doing than writing tickets for F Bombs?
 
We have a lot more important things to do, but these are things that, quality of life issues, so community policing issues that a lot of people don't want to see them jump. 
 
All right. Fair enough. I buy that. Quality of life is important, both on the streets of your community and in the hallways of your workplace. That's why I'm proud CNN is so squeaky clean. 
 
You had no point where you running a gym? 
 
No, no. Running a gym. 
 
You didn't take the time out? 
 
Jesus … I come on the news for two seconds. And you want us to, every time I do an interview, a guy wants to open his … good mouth.
 
All right, Andrew. Thank you very much …  
 
All right. We'll go back to...
 
And we'll be back in just a moment, fill you in on the Art Carney situation.
 
Feel bad for Allan Chernoff there. He tried to get things back on track. It was not meant to be. By the way, the Art Carney situation that Allan referred to was that Art Carney was, in fact, dead. That was the situation. He was 85 years old, and he’d died. Also, that interview was a clip from CNN's old financial channel, CNNFN. So I just want you to stop for a second and consider that on that particular day, the lineup for CNN's financial news channel included the following two segments: Andrew Dice 8 Clay interview and Art Carney obit. CNBC. Yeah, they're still jealous. Anyway, maybe the folks in Middleborough, Massachusetts, are going about this swearing ban all wrong. Don't waste your time nickel-and-diming the locals. Just invite Mr. Andrew Dice Clay to town. Twenty bucks 9 a curse, you'll be rolling in cash. Just don't ask him if he owns a gym, or he'll be running his foul mouth at the rest of those punks on "The RidicuList."