The leading candidates for the Republican nomination for president have made a serious mistake. It isn't a policy mistake, or a mistake on the war or taxes or spending. The mistake is much simpler than any of that. The problem is that Rudy Giuliani, Mitt Romney, Fred Thompson and John McCain all decided they could skip debates geared toward blacks and Latinos.

It makes no sense that leading candidates for president would pass on an opportunity to appeal to such large groups of Americans. Many political pundits may argue there is nothing the Republican candidates are losing; after all, more than 90 percent of black voters have voted for Democrats in recent presidential elections. But that is precisely why the Republicans must go to forums and debates that are aimed at minorities.

The major issues that many of the Republican candidates have raised in the campaign — such as lowering taxes, reigning in government spending, lowering the costs of health care and competent handling of the war in Iraq — are not issues that only white Americans face. These issues and many others cut across racial categories, so why would Republican candidates decline invitations to speak directly to minority groups?

I cannot give an answer because I can think of no legitimate reason — and by the way, "scheduling conflicts" does not count.

Besides skipping a forum on issues facing blacks in America hosted by Tavis Smiley, a nationally respected journalist, all the leading Republican candidates — with the notable exception of Mr. McCain — also passed on a debate sponsored by Univision. This decision makes even less sense.

When so many in the mainstream media are attacking Republicans day after day about their hard-line immigration policies, would it not make sense to address the Latino community in the United States and explain the position? Of course it would. I don't believe for a second that Mr. Giuliani, Mr. Thompson or Mr. Romney are promoting immigration policies that are racist, anti-Latino or anti-Mexican. Unfortunately, they have been accused of that many, many times. A debate before such a large, almost exclusively Latino audience would be the perfect forum to disprove those attacks.

By not attending the debate, these candidates have only made the matter worse–. It now looks as though the leading Republican candidates simply don't care about minority voters.

That may not be the case, but in presidential politics appearance is everything. It would be better for the candidates to attend these debates and perform poorly than to not attend at all, and then at least they would be making an attempt to reach out to voters who have generally dismissed the Republican Party.

I remember that when I began to identify as a Republican and as a conservative, leaders like President George H.W. Bush, Newt Gingrich and Tommy Thompson talked about the party as a "big tent." The Republican Party was supposed to be a party in which all Americans, regardless of their backgrounds, would be welcome. The party has fallen short of that ideal, and large majorities of minority groups continue to vote for the Democrats, but it is no reason to give up as it appears the frontrunners have.

Mr. Giuliani recently spoke before the National Rifle Association. The group has been one of the harshest critics of Mr. Giuliani's record as mayor of New York City, yet the former mayor had no problem engaging the obviously hostile group at all. Why then should he have a problem appearing before a black or Latino audience?

Mr. Romney has appeared before evangelical groups that are hostile to Mormons, Mr. Thompson is a Republican in Hollywood, and Mr. McCain is a Vietnam War hero. What is so frightening about speaking before a group of minorities?

The question these frontrunners should all face in the next debate is this: Why wouldn't the men who are trying to become the leader of their party be interested in putting an end to the stereotypes that are plaguing the Republican Party?

I can't wait to hear the answer.

Mike Hahn ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in history and political science.