Mainstream media really knows how to blow up a relatively insignificant piece of data. Case in point: the newswires are all a-flutter with “news” that Obama is the U.S. president that has appointed the most Latinos ever to his administration. How many? A whopping 11% for posts requiring Senate confirmation:

The Houston Chronicle reported Sunday that Obama has tapped significant numbers of Latinos from California and Texas to serve in his administration.

Brent Wilkes, national executive director of the League of United Latin American Citizens, said he credits California’s large Latino population, its quality educational system and its concentration of “more progressive Latinos” for its high number of Obama administration picks.

While this is nothing to wince at, it’s not anything to marvel over either. Obama is being compared to former President George W. Bush with 5.5% and former President Bill Clinton with a paltry 4.5%.

These appointments are welcomed, but let us not forget that Latinos now account for 17% of the U.S. population, and that is only counting those residents recognized by the U.S. Census.

Don’t be fooled. This type of “news” is helping along the Right’s suggestions that Obama is, to use their term, a “reverse racist” gone wild, when in reality all he is doing is making meager attempts to diversify his administration.

Via / UPI