When Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney talks about "self-deportation" as part of immigration reform, he's channeling Daniel D. Portado, a character political cartoonist Lalo Alcaraz crafted back in the 1990s. Alcaraz, the creator of "La Cucaracha," is also a pal of "Mexican Mitt," Mitt Romney's alter-Twitter self.

Read about Alcaraz, political cartooning and Mexican Mitt in my "Patt Morrison Asks" column. And here's a bit more from the mastermind of www.pocho.com.

Me: You've done poster images of Gov. Jerry Brown as a homeboy -- "Brown pride" –- and a "Viva Obama" poster in 2008. What about this year's election?

Alcaraz: I was just as caught up and excited as anybody about [Obama's 2008] candidacy. I'm hoping to get more excited than I am now. I live in the pushing-back zone. Even when I did that original poster, I felt like I was kind of being more reactive [than] being a booster. I'm more comfortable that way. I'm more comfortable letting other people do the pro-this and pro-that. I'm always doing the anti-stuff.

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-- Patt Morrison

Photo: Cartoonist and artist Lalo Alcaraz is the creator of the first nationally-syndicated, politically-themed Latino daily comic strip, "La Cucaracha."

Brian van der Brug/Los Angeles Times