Identity Politics?

The Politico blogger Ben Smith reports that a recent survey of Latino voters about the 08 race:

Also, the pollster reports what I think is some serious room for growth for Richardson: less than half of Latinos know there's a Hispanic in the race, and only a quarter know it's Richardson.

This raises a couple of questions for me: First, how can we reach out to more people and tell them about the governor's story and background? Second, what will be the role of minority status play out in this year?

I feel divided on this issue. On the one hand, I am proud and excited to see a race that "looks like America" (sort of) with several groups represented. On the other hand, I hope this is the last time we have to talk about this - in the future, I would wish for an electorate/media that focused on what was inside. (On the third hand, however, I must acknowledge that personal experiences do play a big formative role and they are inevitably colored by one's overlapping group memberships...)