Over the past three weeks, John McCain and Barack Obama have spoken to all three prominent Latino political organizations: the National Association of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials; the League of United Latin American Citizens; and the National Council of La Raza.

How did Latino voters get so much clout? They are 15 percent of the population. But they were only 8 percent of the voters in 2004. Nearly half of the nation's Latinos live in California or Texas. Neither is a battleground state. Moreover, since 1972, Republican presidential nominees have, on average, attracted about only one-third of the Latino vote.

So why are Latinos so hotly contested this time? Because of four battleground states. "This election could well be decided by Latino voters," Obama said during his speech to the League of United Latin American Citizens on July 8. "Every four years, some of the closest contests take place in Florida, Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico--states with large Latino communities."

Both presumptive presidential nominees have had problems with Latinos. In the Democratic primaries, Obama lost Latino voters to Hillary Rodham Clinton by nearly 2-to-1 (61 percent to 35 percent in the combined exit polls for all the Democratic primaries). In the general election, McCain is trailing Obama among Latino by almost 2-to-1 (59 percent to 29 percent, according to the Gallup Poll).

Both candidates sense an opportunity with Latino voters. McCain has released an ad aimed at Hispanic voters. Where is it running? Colorado, Nevada, and New Mexico. The ad shows McCain responding to a question about immigration during a Republican primary debate. "When you go to Iraq or Afghanistan today, you're going to see a whole lot of people who are of Hispanic background," he says. "You're even going to meet some of the few thousand that are still green-card holders who are not even citizens of this country.... These are God's children. They must come into our country legally, but they have enriched our culture and our nation." Is the ad respectful or patronizing?

Obama said at a town hall meeting in Georgia this month, "Instead of worrying about whether immigrants can learn English--they'll learn English--you need to make sure your child can speak Spanish. You should be thinking about how your child can become more bilingual." Is that flattering Latinos or pandering?

Obama's remarks set off a controversy. To some people, they sounded as if he were calling for the United States to become a bilingual nation. Obama insists he was simply urging Americans to become more language-proficient. "We should want our children to have more skills," he declared.

Juan Carlos Lopez, senior correspondent for CNN en Espanol, covers the Latino community. "It's a fairly sophisticated community, politically," he said. "They know that politicians pander. They know that politicians will probably do anything and everything to get their vote."

Both candidates support comprehensive immigration reform, including a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants. When that issue drew an outraged response from many conservatives, McCain decided to emphasize border security. In his speech to the League of United Latin American Citizens, Obama made this charge against McCain: "When he was running for his party's nomination, he abandoned his courageous stance and said that he wouldn't even support his own legislation."

McCain continues to emphasize border security to placate his critics on the right. "We must prove to them that we can and will secure our borders first," he told the league. But he also renewed his commitment to comprehensive reform, saying, "We must not make the mistake of thinking that our responsibility to meet this challenge will end with that accomplishment."

The immigration issue is the beginning of the campaign for the Latino vote, not the end. According to Lopez, "Immigration will be the issue that gets the candidate's foot in the door and gets the voters to listen. Will they vote only on immigration? Probably not. They'll vote on other issues, just like other Americans--the economy, the war, health care, education."

Latinos are not one-issue voters. Once they feel reassured that the candidates are not insensitive to them, they will vote on the same issues as everybody else. After all, they too are paying more than $4 for a gallon of gas.

This article appeared in the Saturday, July 19, 2008 edition of National Journal.

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