We never get tired of politicians using Spanish in the media to endear themselves with Hispanic voters, mainly ‘cause their screw-ups are always at least mildly entertaining. Plus, we love sniffing out a technique that’s more lip service than it is a genuine effort to reach Latinos. (Bitchy much?) So it came as no surprise when presidential candidate Hillary Clinton declined an invitation to go onto Univisión this fall for a landmark Spanish-language debate with other Democrats in Miami. The decision leaves us with no choice but to see how well she (and other candidates) grasp the Spanish tongue on their websites. For starters, the New York Senator goes online to say she has ‘introducido proyectos legislativos,’ or ‘inserted legislature’ rather than ‘introduced’ it.

One of the two hopefuls so far to actually accept the invitation, Senator Christopher Dodd of Connecticut, doesn’t seem to offer a site in Spanish. The other, Governor Bill Richardson of New Mexico, uses the literal translation of ‘run’ (as in go for a jog) for the phrase ‘running for the presidency’. And, the slogan used by ‘04 loser John Edwards (“El Mañana Comienza Hoy”) doesn’t make sense anywhere in the Spanish-speaking world.

All these observations (and more) come courtesy of a self-proclaimed Hispanic media and marketing ‘hack’, whose post failed to hold our interest like the candidates failed to hire quality Spanish writers. We approach this kind of analysis in a far more entertaining way, the kind that capitalizes on your short attention span: watch these videos!

The writers of South Park think it’s the other way around for Hillary, that someone inserted “a snuke up her snizz.”

God forbid a catchy reggaetón tune be the number one qualification for holding down the White House.

Presidential Candidates Flunk Spanish [Clemenseando]
Few takers so far for debate in Spanish [Miami Herald]
CNN Report: Once again ANOTHER South Park Interpretation. [YouTube]
La Caminata [YouTube]
Earlier, How Do You Say ‘Rebuttal” In Spanish?