McCain and Rudy Avoid Immigration Topic

Rudy and John shared the podium in NY this week (Thursday), but neither addressed the hottest topic on the national scene: the Immigration Reform bill.

McCain, of course, helped shape the immigration compromise that has so many
conservatives in open revolt. For his part, Giuliani issued a statement in which
he didn't really take a position on the bill, which would provide amnesty for
millions of illegal immigrants living in the United States. He ignored that part
and emphasized his commitment to border enforcement in general.

Conservatives hoping for either candidate to elucidate his position were
left wanting.

Neither candidate talked about the proposed compromise.

Instead, both largely stuck to the same talking points they've recited
dozens of times before, although Rudy tailored his in order to capitalize on his
personal connection with New York and New Yorkers. "I didn't take a city that
was unmanageable and ungovernable and make it into a city that was the best
example of urban renaissance in the 1990s," Rudy told his fellow New York
Republicans. "I didn't do it. You did it. We did it as a team. We did it with
ideas that are the ideas we're going to put into place in Washington, and
Washington needs these ideas badly."

Faced with the failure of the McCain-Kennedy Immigration Bill, McCain had little to say .... Rudy, of course, reminded constituents of how great a mayor he was.

Bless both of them for their previous service.


McCain needs to retire and write his memoirs. Rudy needs to run for re-election in NYC.


If you want to read about the Immigration Reform Bill heading to the Senate on Monday, skip on over to Humbug or Gull's blogs.


Everytime I try to talk about it, I get sick to my stomach and mad as hell.

Politics over Human Tragedy?

I'm as sickened by Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius' comments about the government's lack of response to the Greensburg tornado recovery as I am about the allegations that Howard Dean and his democrat co-horts told Sebelius to say them.

One Greensburg survivor shares my sentiments: "The poor response thing is just political BS," Greensburg resident Mike Swigart, 47, who lost his house and four vehicles from the storm, told wcbstv.com in an exclusive interview. "I saw her on television and I'm disappointed in that because she doesn't know what she's talking about."

Gull has a summary of stories circulating on the net.

It's time MSM stopped taking sides and tell the truth -- including revealing the hypocrites who politicize human tragedy in order to discredit the Bush administration.

Will the REAL Fred Thompson Step Forward?

Who is the real Fred Thompson? Is he the man who spoke in California last night? Is he the man portrayed in this 1996 portrait?

I'm not sure.

I do agree with John at Powerline, however. I'm not happy with Thompson's performance right now. Either he is jerking us around, letting others do his ground-work (he's never been referred to as industrious) before jumping into the mix or he's just a mythical figure created by conservative idealists in their quest for another Ronald Reagan.

I agree with Gull and others. We don't need another 80's Ronald Reagan-type to restore 2008 American credibility on the global or home fronts. We don't need a flashback to the Clinton Era, either.

We need a new direction, a new approach to solving the issues that confront America. My support remains for Mitt Romney. As another blogger suggested, Thompson has the "sound" of Mitt, but without the bite.

Example:

In his speech last night, Thompson spoke of bipartisanship, particularly in resolving problems such as the fate of Social Security. His audience was notably quiet; even Thompson had failed to inspire bipartisanship when he was prosecuting Bill and Hillary Clinton's finance scandals during his term in the Senate.

For the past few years, he's been involved in the background -- garnering support for either Scooter Libby or conservative SCOTUS appointments. Good enough. But is that (lobbying) his best political attribute?

It remains to be seen.

First, he's got to make the decision to run.

Then he's got to belly up to the fire and prove that he's actually the leader -- not just the mythical image -- that America needs.