Bush and Immigration

The blogosphere has been newly emboldened by its successes with porkbusting and pushing the immigration issue. Unfortunately, I think that it has also imbued bloggers with a little bit of self-importance, on immigration in particular. Any pundit that calls the President's speech a failure doesn't grasp how difficult this situation is, or how the required solution must be multifaceted. Blogger The Anchoress concurs:

Attention, my conservative friends - please pull back from the edge. Please take a moment to consider what has become of you: When you have reached the point that you will not even allow a man to make his speech and put his ideas out there - if you have already decided that nothing he says can be of value (or if you fear that too many might actually listen to the man and be persuaded) then you have become part of the problem.

John Hinderaker at Powerline is an example of that prejudgement. Unlike he and Michelle Malkin, who I normally agree with on most issues, I think the president made some good proposals that could mean real progress on the issue, namely greater enforcement at the border and a means of meeting labor demands while respecting the law.

Most pundits seem to think that the choices are either to deport all the illegals or provide amnesty. I disagree. I think that you can provide people that are here in the US illegally with a legal alternative that does not lead to citizenship. The guest worker program is one way to accomplish that.