Politicians of both major parties have made it clear that they are eager to attract the newly powerful Latino voter. In this struggle, black voters are effectively being written out of the game plan -- and it's mostly their own fault. PNS commentator Earl Ofari Hutchinson is the author of "The Crisis in Black and Black" and the director of the National Alliance for Positive Action. His e-mail address is ehutchi344@aol.com

LOS ANGELES -- Both Democrat and Republican strategists are delirious at the prospect of bagging a sizable number of Latino voters in the presidential election.

Like all politicians, they can count and Latinos make up about five percent of the vote nationally, a number growing by the day.

But more appealing to politicians is where those voters are. The biggest number of Latino voters is in California, Florida, Texas, and New York, key states that virtually determine who sits in the White House and which party controls Congress.

Latino voters' rise in political power is nowhere more evident than in California. The state now has 2.3 million Latino voters and this is expected to soar to nearly 3 million in the next two years -- or about 40 percent of the state's voters. In Los Angeles County, the percentages will be even higher with an estimated one of three voters Latino.

It would be the height of stupidity for any politician to ignore these numbers. Democrats will dump millions into campaigns to attract Latino voters and push their legion of Latino Democrats to exhort Latino voters to punch the Democratic ticket in November.

Republicans are scrambling even faster. They say they will shell out $10 million in an ad campaign to attract Latino voters, leap over themselves to invite Latino community leaders to speak at their confabs, and lobby for more funds for health and education programs.

Republicans believe that in a dog fight between the presumptive presidential candidates, Republican George W. Bush and Democrat Al Gore, the Latino vote will be crucial. Republicans are counting on Latino voters to stampede to the GOP mostly because of Bush, who has done more than any other Republican politician in recent years to woo and win Latino voters in Texas.

Republicans hope that the love affair many Latinos have with Bush will do much to wash away the horrid taste Republican opposition to affirmative action and immigrant rights left in the mouths of many Latino voters.

But all this ecstasy over Latino voters has touched off nervous jitters among some black leaders. They murmur aloud that Gore and Bradley have been missing in action in black communities, except for some vague promises about spending more on social programs and reminiscing about past poverty and civil rights battles.

Again, this is a matter of counting. More and more blacks are vanishing from the political radar scope. They have lost dozens of mayoralties and municipal offices and other political appointments in cities across the country.

The evaporation of black political power is especially noticeable in California. When the state legislature met in 1996, there were 10 black state representatives. This year, that number has dipped to six. At the same time, Latinos are barreling ahead. They now hold 24 seats in the state legislature, and hold some of the most visible positions in state government.

Much of the blame for the black political slump lies with black politicians and voters who have tied themselves so tightly to the Democratic Party that they are taken for granted and snubbed by Republicans. This has made black voters apathetic and cynical, convinced that many black leaders have betrayed their political interests. These voters are unwilling to expend any time or energy pressing Democrats, let alone Republicans, to take them and their agenda seriously.

Many Latinos, leaders and voters, aren't hamstrung in this way. While still overwhelmingly Democrats, Latinos are willing to parcel out a significant number of their votes to the Republicans. Both California and Texas have politically active and influential Latino Republican Legislative Caucuses. This has forced some Republicans and conservative Democrats to soften their opposition to affirmative action and immigrant rights, and to support bilingual education programs.

The cruel reality is that many black politicians and voters are oblivious to the country's rapidly changing political and ethnic realities. They fail to forge coalitions with other ethnics and blindly swear allegiance to the Democrats.

This is why more and more Democrats and Republicans say, Latino voters, si, black voters?