CNN Calls Prez Speech “Impassioned Appeal”

George W. Bush’s 17-minute speech last night about immigration might have been impassioned if it had been delivered by anyone other than George W. Bush who looked embalmed. The speech was a good piece of writing. This morning the LA Times said “Bush made a passionate plea”. But it was the speechwriter who made a passionate plea. The president made robotic movements with his hands while mechanically reading from the teleprompter. Isn’t anyone going to talk about the president’s mental and physical torpor? And what is it with a White House that wants to call out the troops to solve problems? And what troops, we might ask? If the Bush administration’s plan for border security is put into effect, the National Guard will have to send its newest enlistees to the border for a short time. When that deployment of green, minimally trained youngsters is rotated out, a new batch of rookies will be sent to the border. And they will be expected to do what? Chase down illegals? Shoot to kill? Build a wall? Check for green cards? What? The Bush administration had no clear plan for executing a war in Iraq or for ending the war in Iraq. And now it has no clear plan for using the National Guard to secure our borders. The Bush administration only has a plan to make it seem as though they have a plan. And that, the White House reasons, will score necessary votes from Hispanics and appease the Republican base, which is in revolt. However, one must give credit where credit is due. The president’s speechwriter has unerringly tapped into the Texas gestalt of the Bush administration. And that is: Forever enable a group of second-class citizens (guest workers) who will NEVER become American citizens so that they can be used as slaves; and keep a bunch of gun-toting vigilantes at hand to enforce order among the slaves. How this is going to appeal to Hispanics I have no idea. But I am sure it sounds reasonable and attractive to Republican neocons and far-right religious fanatics.