[moodyskeptic]

I'm not expecting you to believe anything, read the words of the speech and decide for yourself if Bush is a liar or a truther.

Many here see an outrage. I see a reasonable attempt to trap illegals into a choice: sign up, expose yourself to our laws or be deported.

The exact same proposal, in a different speech written by a Pat Buchanan, would bring screams of racism, xenophobia, etc.

I don't see any evidence of the combined political will to put 500,00 troops at the border and conduct mass roundups and deportations. That is specifically what is being demanded here, nothing less. What does a smart President do?

Chess, not checkers.

[Junior_G]

The exact same proposal, in a different speech written by a Pat Buchanan, would bring screams of racism, xenophobia, etc.

When Pat Buchanan sneezes, there are cries of racism and xenophobia. I don't think Bush's proposal is nearly as clever or calculating as some people like to believe. He's granting virtual amnesty to illegals for a flood of cheap labor and in the hopes that it will produce Latino votes as well. End of story.

[Modernman]

I don't see any evidence of the combined political will to put 500,00 troops at the border and conduct mass roundups and deportations.

Some FReepers have a fantasy of calling out the National Guard and going house-to-house in Arizona, California, New Mexico etc. and rounding up illegals at gunpoint. Anyone with half a brain should realize that (a) no President would ever authorize this and (b) even if he did, once the pictures of women and children having guns pointed at them hit the airways, the public would lose it.

Bush has put forward a realistic proposal. Some people disagree with its provisions. Fine. They should come up with something better (as I believe Sabretooth, for example, has on these threads). Screaming "impeach! impeach!" just shows that they have nothing useful to contribute to this debate.