I would prefer that Bush was up 20 points in the polls so that he could afford to say this stuff.
---I would prefer that Bush was up 20 points in the polls so that he could afford to say this stuff.---
If Bush was saying 'this stuff', he'd be stronger in he polls, IMHO.
A truly principled man speaks the truth without regard to what the polls say. To do anything else is self-serving and cowardly.
He can hardly afford not to. The public is overwhelmingly in favor of strong border security. He could win over even more of them by making it a central issue.
Being in favor of strong border security does not make one anti-immigrant. You can still have a liberal immigration policy and a well guarded border at the same time. So there's no reason to be against it that would fly with the general public, and plenty of reason to believe that the general public would appreciate solid moves in favor of it.