Sensibility and Immigration.

I have always admired the British politicians for always sounding sensible. Sundays at 9pm, I used to watch the British House of Commons on CSPAN for kicks. Tony Blair is one of my political heroes. Although I disagree with some of his politics, I always appreciate that he sounds reasonable and speaks with intelligence and eloquence. David Cameron, the leader of the new British conservative movement, sounds equally level-headed. In a Newsweek article, in response to an immigration question, Cameron said, "We must have a proper system of controlled entry. We need moderate, sensible language regarding immigration, combined with firm controls." Refreshing tone.

Now yesterday, I heard... “It is neither wise nor realistic to round up millions of people, many with deep roots in the United States and send them across the border. There is a rational middle ground between granting an automatic path to citizenship for every illegal immigrant and a program of mass deportation.” Did our president actually say this? It sounds reasonable, thoughtful, articulate and sort of indicates a grasp of the nuances of a very complex situation. You can see why I am having a hard time believing ole President "Smoke 'Em Outta Thar Holes" Bush said this.

On PBS on the Lehrer Hour, I heard a commentator suggest that, "Immigration will be the Gay Marriage of the 2006 election." I really hope not. I hate pandering, base pacifying issues. I'd hate to think deploying 6000 National Guardsmen to the border was part of this pandering. However, it seems as if Bush is attempting a shade of gray solution. Importantly, all the southern border states' (CA, AZ, NM, TX) governors are in favor of National Guard assistance. Also, Bush stated, "The United States is not going to militarize the southern border." Unfortunately, this falls short of directly rejecting the border wall or fence idea. This "Rio Grande Wall" along our border with Mexico disgusts me. What a terrible site that would be. However, he outwardly rejected the complete crap idea of deporting 12 million immigrants. Now, that deportation scheme was pandering at its worst. Hey, maybe the House Republicans should offer another $100 rebate?

But, seriously, President Bush, more talk like this, please. That's all I ask. Even if I disagree, moderate, reasonable and informed dialogue makes me happy. Maybe Dean, Reid and Palosi could take the hint too.