The gubernatorial campaign trail’s latest detour

By Jon Ralston

Sunday, Aug. 1, 2010 | 2:01 a.m.

I am so happy we are no longer talking about Rory’s last name in the governor’s race and have moved on to a more substantive topic: Whether Brian Sandoval is ashamed of his Hispanic heritage.

This story is reflective of many phenomena — none of them salutary for the political process: The superspeed trajectory of the 24/7 news cycle. Those who oversee newsrooms feeling free to offer political opinions and candidate criticisms. And, worst of all, the further devolving of rhetoric in political campaigns.

The complete botching of Team Rory’s strategy to hide his toxic last name, thus drawing attention to it, is now matched by Sandoval’s mangling of the illegal immigration issue, which has been highlighted by a kerfuffle over what Univision officials say he said about his kids: that they don’t look Hispanic.

A quick recap:

Univision news Director Adriana Arévalo penned a column last month for El Tiempo, a startling and sneering assault on Sandoval for what she claimed was his attempt to win station viewers with an ad promoting the possibility he could become the state’s first Hispanic governor. But the most controversial part of the column was when she referred to the Arizona immigration law and wrote of Sandoval’s visit to Univision: “He was asked how he would feel if his children were stopped in the street and asked for their papers. He answered, with a note of pride in his voice, ‘my children don’t look Hispanic.’ ”

That seemed a strikingly odd thing to say so I asked the candidate about it last week on “Face to Face.” Sandoval looked genuinely shocked and denied ever having said it. But when Univision folks claimed to have the video where he did, Sandoval issued a statement: “I don’t remember saying it and it is most certainly not how I feel. If I did say those words, it was wrong and I sincerely regret it. I am proud of my heritage and my family.”

As if this story — seized on by Team Rory and by the national media — couldn’t get more bizarre, Univision first refused to release what it said was work product, then said although the remarks are on video they can’t be heard because there was no one recording audio — the reporter was seeking background video for his piece and was chatting with the candidate. But the reporter and others who were there insist Sandoval said it. The news director was not there but wrote the column after talking to her staffers.

If this weren’t really happening, I would think I am immersed in a Christopher Buckley novel. Or a bad sitcom.

But this is serious business. And whether or not it has an effect on the race, I think people are missing what it means and what it illuminates.

I’ve followed Sandoval for a decade and a half, and he has never run to or from being Hispanic. That’s not the story.

The story is how the uncomfortable illegal immigration issue, and especially the attention surrounding the Arizona law that will disproportionately affect Hispanics, is discombobulating the man who may be the state’s first Hispanic governor.

Many were surprised during the GOP primary when Sandoval came out strongly in favor of the Arizona law opposed by so many Hispanics. Considering the Hispanic vote is so important — and considering that is a key reason Republicans thought he could win the general — it seemed a risky gambit for short-term (June) gain with possible long-term (November) damage. And he was running against a corpse named Jim Gibbons, so there was no need.

But even if he really believes what he said about the law, Sandoval has twisted himself into rhetorical knots over ancillary issues. He said he was predisposed to favor driver’s licenses for illegals, then abruptly said he is unalterably opposed. He is for the Arizona law, but not sure if it should be passed in Nevada — and on “Face to Face,” he refused to say whether he would support a bill. And despite saying licenses for undocumented workers are wrong (at least now) because that would legitimize illegal immigration, he is for granting in-state tuition benefits to illegals.

Call it a political box of his own making. Call it a phony front to conceal his real positions. Or call it a palpable skittishness about the issue.

That’s what this is about — not a man uncomfortable with his skin color but a man with his skin color uncomfortable with his political positioning.

Here’s a thought, considering there is this $3 billion budget shortfall confronting the next governor: How about talking about that issue and not one candidate’s last name and the other’s ethnicity?

Deal?