The Democrats are getting ready for Sunday's Univision presidential debate in Miami. The questions will be asked in Spanish and then translated to English for the hopefuls to answer in English.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-Ill.) this morning announced he has been endorsed by Federico Pena, a prominent Latino politician and former Clinton Administration official.

Pena, who served as both Clinton's transportation and energy secretary, will become Obama's national co-chair. He told reporters the easy thing would have been waiting for a candidate to emerge victorious after the Democratic primaries.

Instead, after "thinking very carefully," he chose Obama for having "the depth of judgment that our country needs to usher in a new era of global leadership," he said. "Judgment and wisdom are far more important than experience."

Pena said he thinks Obama has the ability to bring "diverse groups of people together" and has a special appeal to Hispanic voters. He added he believes the Hispanic vote will be "key" in both the primary election and the general election.

Asked why he didn't choose Sen. Hillary Clinton, the former first lady, he responded a person with "the best set of skills in doing two fundamental things – unifying our country ... and looking at international problems creatively and unencumbered by past political ideology ... would be the best president."

"You either have those skills or you don't have those skills," said Pena, who will attend Sunday's debate.

Obama also is urging supporters to show up with signs and spirit before the debate, to be held at the University of Miami in Coral Gables.

Clinton (D-NY) has encouraged her supporters to hold "America con Hillary" debate watch parties.

The two Spanish speakers of the Democratic field - Sen. Chris Dodd and New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson - are trailing their rivals but hope to gain some momentum with their linguistic advantage.

Dodd (D-CT) tomorrow will offer a new and "bold" Cuba policy, the campaign announced, saying the senator "has led the fight to reform our approach to Cuba to better serve the cause of democracy and American interests."

Richardson, who grew up in Mexico City, sent out a release today saying he has "shown a lifetime commitment to our nation's Latino community."

As my colleague Stephen Dinan reported this morning, Democrats have reached out to the Hispanic community on many issues.

Immigration - a topic dominating Republican debates - has been one of the least talked about issues of the Democratic campaign. Expect that to change Sunday night.

-- Christina Bellantoni, national political reporter, The Washington Times