Where Was Bush Last Week?

Last week while the U.S Senate fumbled a proposed immigration reform bill that would have afforded much needed relief to our nation's immigrant families, George W. Bush, a proclaimed advocate of immigration reform, was out of the country. Many political analysts believe that Bush's proposed immigration reform initiative may be his last opportunity to make a name for himself in the history books. If this is the case, why wasn't he on Capitol Hill last week encouraging support for this bill?

Today President Bush was pushing again for his immigration reform bill in the media. One has to wonder if he wasn't just a few days to late. In fact, some of President Bush's statements were almost apologetic for not being available to personally advocate his position. Maybe Bush himself is accepting that he has no influence on Capitol Hill but he certainly will not gain support by being absent when his support is so needed. How does he expect anyone in the Senate to believe and understand that immigration reform is so critical if he himself does not lead the charge?

Bush is planning what the media have called "a rare visit to Capitol Hill" tomorrow to try and rally support for immigration reform. Bush even released his weekly radio address a day early to discuss the issue. Unfortunately it may be too late. At this point all that seems to be going on is finger-pointing. The Democrats blame the Republicans for failing to reach a compromise and visa-versa. Even the White House is blaming Harry Reid, the Senate Majority Leader, for pulling the bill from the Senate floor prematurely. The White House has neither the time nor the political clout to engage in such politic gamesmanship.

The fact is that the politicians and everyone else who is actively following this bill are tired. The failure to focus on core issues has resulted in an unfocused debate over ancillary issues. No one is willing to gamble their political capital on an issue that seems to have little chance of becoming law.

If the White House wants to make immigration reform a reality it needs to focus the debate on the important core issues--the unity of immigrant families.