Hillary, Barack, want my vote? Just $20 million, please

LOS ANGELES -- What will it take for a Democratic presidential candidate to win the support of California superdelegate Steven Ybarra?

Say, $20 million.

The Democratic National Committee member doesn't parse his words when it comes to what he wants from Barack Obama or Hillary Rodham Clinton _ an ironclad promise to spend that heady amount to register Mexican-American voters and get them to the polls in November.

In a telephone interview Wednesday, he said he plans to remain undecided in the tight contest until "someone shows me the money."

When will he settle on a candidate?

"Nobody showed me any money yet," he said.

He's not kidding. To Ybarra, a Sacramento lawyer, the stakes are no less than winning the presidency in November.

He predicted that as many as 1.3 million Mexican-Americans could be added to voter rolls in New Mexico, Colorado, Florida and other swing states, a potentially decisive edge for the eventual Democratic nominee.

With that investment of funds, Mexican-Americans would realize Democratic leaders "care about us," Ybarra said, referring to Mexican-Americans.

Is $20 million a lot to ask?

In 2004, "they spent a billion to lose," he said.