We learned this week that potential Democrat V.P. nominees are taking Spanish lessons:

The Castro brothers -- ­Julián and Joaquín (not Fidel and Raúl) -- are said to be studying Spanish very hard in the event that either one is picked as Hillary Clinton’s running mate.

Julián, the US Housing and Urban Development Secretary and former mayor of San Antonio, Texas, is on the short list of vice presidential potentials, along with Elizabeth Warren. His twin Joaquín -- a congressman -- is lower down on the list.

“Surprisingly, they don’t speak Spanish,” one insider told me. “They are cramming with Rosetta Stone.” (A spokesman for Julián denies he is studying Spanish.)

The two Texans -- raised by their single mom, Chicana activist Rosie Castro -- both went to Stanford and Harvard Law, but were never fully bilingual, which has become an embarrassing issue.

“People think that you either are fluent in Spanish or can’t speak it at all,” Joaquín told the Washington Post. “Not everything is that black or white.”

If she picks either brother, Clinton would expect him to campaign among Latinos.

“Even if they can’t give interviews in Spanish, they have to be able to say a few phrases,” one politico said. “Right now, Michael Bloomberg has better Spanish.”

After all, who cares about the economy, ISIS, black youth unemployment, kids crossing the border, or Putin?  All that matters in 2016 is a Democrat who can pander in Spanish!    

It's clear that the Clinton campaign will use Trump's remarks to energize a Hispanic base that stayed home in 2010 and 2014.  I saw this recently during a Texas primary night appearance on Spanish-speaking TV.  The Democrat guest spent the entire show talking about Trump even though Cruz had won the vote.

Memo to Mr Trump: You will need 65 million votes to win the presidency.  You can't get there with 27% of the Hispanic vote like Romney in 2012.  There are not enough disenchanted Democrats, or conservatives who didn't vote, to make up the difference.

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