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Why politicians try to speak Spanish
01:57 - Source: CNN
CNN  — 

The next time you question your Spanish skills, compare yourself to a politician. CNN en Espanol’s Juan Carlos Lopez explains what works and what doesn’t when it comes to Latino outreach.

Read: How to woo a Latino voter

There are a number of native Spanish speakers in national politics, such as Senators Bob Menendez (D-New Jersey) and Marco Rubio (R-Florida). But even politicians who would sound out of place in a high school Spanish class attempt to connect to the Latino community by speaking their language.

No matter how bad your Spanish is, if you know that “Cuban” isn’t a language, you’re one step ahead of 2012 presidential candidate Herman Cain.