Your question is silly. If cap-n-trade (or whatever it's called) eventually passes, it will be a first. It will set precedent on that particular set of issues. The 1986 immigration act signed by President Reagan was such a precedent-setting law. My point, in case you really are that obtuse, is to contrast the hatred of GWB among some elements of the right (as represented on FR) due to his support of legislation that never passed, to their simultaneous willfully ignoring the fact that President Reagan actually supported and signed a genuine amnesty bill.
If you hate the one for merely supporting a bill that never passed, then you must hate the other more for actually signing an amnesty bill into law. Either that, or be revealed as a hypocrite.
GWB tried to shove amnesty down our throats. Republicans opposed it by 4 to 1. Even a majority of Democrats were against amnesty. His misguided obsession created deep divisions in the GOP ranks.
Do you remember how angry people were in June 2007? His failure to get amnesty passed *does not* negate the fact that he did his damnedest to foist it upon us.
Your point is that, since GWB failed to get amnesty passed, we should all just forget that he even tried to shove that monstrosity upon us. That is stupid.
Using your logic, if Obama had failed to pass his Porkulus bill (*not* a precedent-setting bill by the way, as other presidents have passed stimulus bills), we should have then just simply overlooked the fact that he tried his best to rob the taxpayers of $900 billion for his union cronies. Talk about obtuse!