The Obama White House has a PhD on "pandering" to Hispanics. 

They don't have results.    For example, they didn't propose immigration reform when the Democrats controlled the Congress.  They won't explain the lousy unemployment in Hispanic districts or their opposition to reforms in public education.

But they are good at pandering or distracting. 

September is Hispanic Heritage Month and the White House wasted no time to tell you what they think of Hispanics living in the US. 

My friend Jorge Ponce, a fellow Cuban American and contributor to Babalu Blog, brought this to my attention:

"This year's White House Proclamation to commemorate National Hispanic Heritage Month includes the following language:    

 "Whether our ancestors crossed the Atlantic in 1790 or the Rio Grande in 1970 ..."  

What are they talking about?

Just on September 17, 2013, we celebrated the 226th anniversary of our Framers' signing of the U.S. Constitution in 1787.   

So, how could our ancestors have crossed the Atlantic in 1790? Were the Framers of the U.S. Constitutions extraterrestrial aliens?

Don't tell me someone messed up the Hispanic Proclamation!!    

In addition, are Hispanics considered only those who crossed the Rio Grande? What about all those others Hispanics who came from Cuba, Puerto Rico, and other countries in the Caribbean, Central and South America, and Spain? 

I'm confused. Didn't our ancestors come over from Spain in 1492? Moreover, we celebrated a very important event in the history of our Nation in April 2013 -- the 500th anniversary of Don Juan Ponce de Leon's landing in Florida.

I would think that this important feat would have been mentioned in this year's proclamation.  

I think that someone needs to take a crash course immediately in the history of Hispanics. But, more importantly, I think that someone should show more respect to Hispanics and to the contributions that they have made to our Nation." (Jorge Ponce)

Yes, The Obama administration needs a history lesson.  However, this is not a case of historical ignorance or White House staffers who did not take a history class.  It is political pandering, or a way of earning points with Mexican Americans who voted for change and got nothing or "nada."

How much longer will the Obama administration continue to treat Hispanics with so little respect?  The answer is that they will continue as long as Hispanics buy into "el culto" or the cult of personality.

P.S. You can hear my chat with Bill Katz about this topic.