Illegal Immigration and Political Spin

Paul Krugman of the New York Times has an excellent commentary on the immigration issue at Truthout.

For my money, illegal immigration is another of those issues being pushed by the right wingers to distract from Bush's failed presidency. Illegal immigration is a problem that should have the politics taken out of it by turning it over to a bipartisan commission.

At the moment, the main issue is indeed the failure of politics in this country to come to terms with a range of issues facing this country and the failure of the Republican leadership in Congress and the White House to deal with those issues. We have failures in foreign policy, a constitutional crisis, a president who believes he's above the law, a pending energy crisis, a failure to create good-paying jobs, a massive deficit, a failing health system, corruption in Washington, a system that increasingly ignores facts, a president who can't even acknowledge his need to act in cases like Katrina, etc., etc., etc.

I'll keep an eye on the immigration issue but it's not high on my list of priorities. If not properly attended to, mishandling foreign policy any more than Bush has done, or continuing to ignore our energy problems can lead to a crisis on either issue that can bring this country to its knees. These are not the only problems that need attention before we get around to illegal immigration. The media isn't doing Americans any favors by letting themselves be led around by the nose by the likes of Karl Rove. Excuse the cliche, but we need to keep the eye on the ball.