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I think she will be our one and only chance to get some control over the illegals.

It's hard to say what she thinks about these issues. I'd like to think she's tougher than her president, but I doubt that she will take any steps that go beyond his will. Here's an interesting Condoleeza quote:

RICE: You cannot support illegal immigration. George W. Bush has also said that you have to understand that family values don't stop at the Rio Grande and, assuming there are no acceptable choices, people are going to come and make themselves better.

TIE: So if NAFTA is a success, we will have fewer immigrants here.

RICE: That's right, and we'll have a good trading partner. -- Rice Talk - interview with Condoleeza Rice, primary foreign policy advisor to George W. Bush - Interview

I'll say it: this is too little, too late. Elsewhere she says things like:

“I think that these are decent people,” said national security adviser Condoleeza Rice in describing Hispanics in this country illegally. “They are people who are just trying to work and make life better for their family. We can deal with the border issue. ” -- Still Pushing for Reform Proposed guest-worker plan prompts dissension within GOP ranks. By Tim Chávez

I don't disagree with the above statement, but it ignores the corrolary: decent people who don't belong here are still hurting us. They're taking jobs away from our lower and middle classes, they're burdening our overpriced social safety nets, and they are shifting our culture toward Hispanic instead of Anglo-Saxon. Why would we want to abandon our lower class citizens and scrap our English language? Why would we want to foot the bill for billions of dollars in state and federal safety net services that we had no ability to forecast? Why would we leave open a border to a nation which is entertaining trade with Iran, and has its own "southern border security" problems?

Republicans are still afraid to say and do things that the far left may interpret in a politically incorrect manner. That's the fundamental problem with our country, though.

This problem starts at the top of the party and works its way downward. The party needs to wake up and smell the coffee. Average Joes and Janes across our country are asking why the Democrats and the Republicans don't seem to care about the things that matter most to them. Meanwhile we have unconstitutional flag desecration initiatives and faith-based initiatives that fund mosques. An Imam gave a consecration at the RNC convention, and the First Nephew gave a whole speech in Spanish. Where is the party's resolve? Why does it bog itself down in contentious issues while our borders are overrun?

The party needs to prioiritize. I see it foundering on its personal pet problems, often working backward from the real issues that trigger the symptoms the RNC tries in vain to fight. Want stronger, more enthusiastic families? Protect America's future and assure young people everywhere across the land that their physical and economic security is rock solid. Then you'll have large, happy families as far as the eye can see. Ignore those problems, and you'll have nothing but death and dismay. Look at the root of the problem, not just the symptoms! Illegal and excessive immigration is central to the issue of native-born Americans questioning their future.

We need stronger leadership on this issue than, "family values don't stop at the border." It's long overdue!