from today’s presser:
Question from Ginger NYTimes: To President Obama, given the fight that you’re having to wage for health care, I wonder if you can tell us what you think the prospects are for immigration reform, for comprehensive immigration reform, which you’ve said is your goal; and whether you think that the blows you’re taking now on health care and that the Democrats are likely to take around the midterm elections will make it hard, if not impossible, to achieve comprehensive immigration reform in this term — and what you’ve told President Calderón about that?
President Calderón, I’d like to hear a little bit about your thoughts on Honduras. There have been some in Latin America who have said that the United States has not acted strongly enough to return President Zelaya to power. And I wonder if you could talk a little bit about how you feel about what the United States should be doing or could be doing to restore democratic order in Honduras.
And, Prime Minister Harper, a few months ago the Homeland Security Secretary of the United States went to Canada — or at least aggravated Canadian sensibilities when she compared the Canadian border to the Mexican border. And I wonder what you think about that and how you feel about the United States using some of the enforcement strategies adopted on the southern border in the north. Thank you.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: That’s all? (Laughter.)
Q That’s all, Mr. President.
PRESIDENT OBAMA: Well, first of all, Ginger, I don’t know if you’re doing some prognosticating about the outcome of the midterm elections, which are over a year away. I anticipate we’ll do just fine. And I think when all is said on health care reform, the American people are going to be glad that we acted to change an unsustainable system so that more people have coverage, we’re bending the cost curve, and we’re getting insurance reforms so that people don’t get dropped because of preexisting conditions or other issues.
So understand, though, I’m not acting based on short-term political calculations. I’m looking at what’s best for the country long term. If I had been making short-term political calculations, I wouldn’t be standing here as President, because nobody calculated that I could win the presidency.
With respect to immigration reform, I continue to believe that is also in the long-term interests of the United States. We have a broken immigration system. Nobody denies it. And if we continue on a path we’re on, we will continue to have tensions with our Mexican neighbors; we will continue to have people crossing the borders in a way that is dangerous for them, unfair for those who are applying legally to immigrate; we’re going to continue to have employers who are exploiting workers because they’re not within a legal system, and so oftentimes are receiving less than minimum wage, or don’t have overtime, or being abused in other fashion. That’s going to depress U.S. wages. It’s causing ongoing tensions inside the United States. It’s not fair and it’s not right, and we’re going to change it.
Now, I’ve got a lot on my plate, and it’s very important for us to sequence these big initiatives in a way where they don’t all just crash at the same time. And what we’ve said is in the fall when we come back, we’re going to complete health care reform. We still have to act on energy legislation that has passed the House, but the Senate, I’m sure, is going to have its own ideas about how it wants to approach it. We still have financial regulatory reform that has to get done because we don’t want a situation in which irresponsible actions in the global financial markets can precipitate another crisis. That’s a pretty big stack of bills.
Fortunately, what we’ve been able to do is to begin meeting with both Democrats and Republicans from the House and the Senate. Secretary Napolitano is coordinating these discussions, and I would anticipate that before the year is out we will have draft legislation along with sponsors potentially in the House and the Senate who are ready to move this forward, and when we come back next year, that we should be in a position to start acting.
Now, am I going to be able to snap my fingers and get this done? No. This is going to be difficult; it’s going to require bipartisan cooperation. There are going to be demagogues out there who try to suggest that any form of pathway for legalization for those who are already in the United States is unacceptable. And those are fights that I’d have to have if my poll numbers are at 70 or if my poll numbers are at 40. That’s just the nature of the U.S. immigration debate.
But ultimately, I think the American people want fairness. And we can create a system in which you have strong border security, we have an orderly process for people to come in, but we’re also giving an opportunity for those who are already in the United States to be able to achieve a pathway to citizenship so that they don’t have to live in the shadows, and their children and their grandchildren can have a full participation in the United States. So I’m confident we can get it done.
Oh, excuse me — I know this wasn’t directed at me, but I just want to make one quick point on Honduras, because you repeated something that I’ve heard before. The same critics who say that the United States has not intervened enough in Honduras are the same people who say that we’re always intervening, and the Yankees need to get out of Latin America. You can’t have it both ways.
We have been very clear in our belief that President Zelaya was removed from office illegally, that it was a coup, and that he should return. We have cooperated with all the international bodies in sending that message. Now, if these critics think that it’s appropriate for us to suddenly act in ways that in every other context they consider inappropriate, then I think what that indicates is, is that maybe there’s some hypocrisy involved in their approach to U.S.-Latin America relations that certainly is not going to guide my administration policies.
He's right about one thing: "...ultimately, I think the American people want fairness." Yes they do. And fairness means people abiding by the rules and our laws, and not being rewarded when they don't -- at the expense of the American people.
“We have been very clear in our belief that President Zelaya was removed from office illegally, that it was a coup, and that he should return. We have cooperated with all the international bodies in sending that message. Now, if these critics think that it’s appropriate for us to suddenly act in ways that in every other context they consider inappropriate, then I think what that indicates is, is that maybe there’s some hypocrisy involved in their approach to U.S.-Latin America relations that certainly is not going to guide my administration policies.”
is he saying the left wing considers his meddling inappropriate? in every other context they consider inappropriate? thats not the conservative base. very odd.
Thanks for the text!