My dad once told me that “everything is political.”

Quite young and quite naïve, this claim didn’t sit well with me.

However, as my knowledge of politics evolved past blind faith in Jon Stewart and an occasional reading of The New York Times, my dad’s words struck me with serious pessimism. Faith in politics seemed a pointless venture—government serves its own interests, not those of the people.

Having slowly cultivated my father’s mindset, President Obama’s new immigration policy left a sour taste in my mouth.

The policy allows illegal immigrants under 30 to work in the U.S. without fear of deportation, provided they were brought here before the age of 16, have clean criminal records, are enrolled in/have completed high school or have served in the military.

While I agreed with the policy, I was still saddened by what seemed a purely political move.

The policy gave optimism for 800,000 people, yet still seemed another futile attempt to grab votes come November.

However, after scrutinizing the actual ramifications of Obama’s policy, my quest for political integrity found some much-needed silver lining.

Come November, roughly eight states will decide who our president is, and while Obama’s move seems political, it realistically gives him little advantage.

The assumption is that these swing-states can be taken through the Latino vote, and that by showing sympathy to illegal immigrants, Obama can cruise to another term.

This is simply not the case.

In the 2008 election, the influence of the Latino vote in swing states was dismal. Of the eight current swing states, Latino voters accounted for an average 3 percent of each state’s total polling.

In 2008, one-third of that 3 percent voted for John McCain, indicating that appeal to Latino voters is not absolutely necessary to winning a state.

In fact, the two states considered “tipping points” this year have less than average Latino voter turnout, and while these votes do matter, they don’t drastically alter the state’s final vote.

“But what if Obama is trying to motivate other Latinos to go and vote for him?”

In the last election, 68 percent of Latino voters saw immigration policy as “very important.”

While that number seems high, roughly one-third of Latinos still voted Republican.

These numbers imply that while immigration is important to the Latino population, it’s hardly the crux of their voting patterns.

Ultimately, Obama’s policy may bring one or two more voters to the polls, but it probably won’t affect current trends.

If this policy was indeed only political, then we can assume one of the following:

Either the Obama campaign can’t access basic PEW Research data, or they are severely misinformed on their standing with Latino voters. Obama fan or not, it’d be hard to argue for such incompetency.

The fact remains that this policy helps the country more than it does the President.

Don’t agree with me? Let’s ask the staunchest of the Republican base:

Bill Kristol: “It’s the right thing to do, actually.”

Joe Trippi: “The policy’s the right one.”

Karl Rove: “Relatively narrow, but compassionate policy.” (Didn’t see that coming did you?)

Yes, this policy is a short-term fix to a much larger problem.

Yes, it could possibly (although not likely) help grab Latino votes.

Yes, its timing was convenient for Obama’s campaign.

But no, it won’t be a “game-changer” come November.

Label this move a “political act” until your face turns blue, but the general consensus seems to favor it. Either way, sensible policy has finally emerged from Washington, and that alone is worth celebrating.

As for my dad’s words of wisdom, I still stand by them.

However, while everything is political, that doesn’t mean everything is bad.

John Downen can be reached at 581-7942

or at [email protected]