A prime-time televised speech from Bush is always an opportunity to get red-faced as one imagines people around the world viewing, shaking their heads, wondering how is it this guy is the leader of the USA.... And last night was no exception, more fear-mongering and idiocy, targeted specifically at his dwindling and yet extremely upset hardcore base.

A piece from this morning's NY Times editorial:

President Bush's speech from the Oval Office last night was not a blueprint for comprehensive immigration reform. It was a victory for the fear-stricken fringe of the debate. These are the people who say illegal border crossings must be stopped immediately, with military boots in the desert sand. Never mind the overwhelming burdens of Iraq and Afghanistan, the absence of a coherent and balanced immigration policy, and the broad public support for a comprehensive solution. America must send its overtaxed troops to the border right now, they say, so a swarm of ruthless, visa-less workers cannot bury our way of life under a relentless onslaught of hard work.