Profile In Courage

Whether President Obama is in favor of trying to do an immigration law overhaul this year will depend on how many Republicans are willing to help him with it, the New York Times reports in an article that begins, "President Obama said Thursday that he would proceed with an overhaul of the immigration system this year if he could attract substantial Republican support." He clearly feels no such constraints on health care. It sure looks like he's buying in to the idea that an immigration overhaul is a political loser for the Democrats. And it sure looks like he's putting the politics of the issue ahead of any moral or economic urgency in expanding the legal American workforce, opening America's doors to those fleeing persecution abroad and seeking opportunity here, and lifting those here illegally out of the shadows. If the president really has deep convictions on this issue, why would he pre-emptively grant the minority party in Washington a veto on it?