The President limited his State of the Union speech to only four sentences on immigration.
One was a generalization that we need immigrants. Two of the sentences were bland and could have been said by anyone at a water cooler regarding the fact we need to patrol our borders. The final one was a reiteration on his guest worker program and trying to once again tell people it's not amnesty.
The saddest thing about this portion of the speech is that it came right after he was talking about how great the American worker is. I found it telling that when he mentioned the American worker saying "no one can out-produce or out-compete the American worker" there was a noticeable pause before those in Congress actually decided to applaud. It was an even longer pause on the left side.
Obviously these people don't believe that our workers are worth a crap and can compete. Their pause just shows such.
The White House
Keeping America competitive requires us to open more markets for all that Americans make and grow. One out of every five factory jobs in America is related to global trade, and we want people everywhere to buy American. With open markets and a level playing field, no one can out-produce or out-compete the American worker. (Applause.)
Keeping America competitive requires an immigration system that upholds our laws, reflects our values, and serves the interests of our economy. Our nation needs orderly and secure borders. (Applause.) To meet this goal, we must have stronger immigration enforcement and border protection. (Applause.) And we must have a rational, humane guest worker program that rejects amnesty, allows temporary jobs for people who seek them legally, and reduces smuggling and crime at the border. (Applause.)
The key to his portion above on the American worker is the statement a level playing field. Anyone who believes that with free trade and the current deficits we run with countries like China we're on a level playing field is a fool. The fact that he would mention immigration directly after stating a level playing field is another ridiculous statement. American worker's pay is continually being driven down by the flood of illegal aliens.
There is no level playing field that I can see. Our current policies are stacked against the American worker both with illegal immigration and with trade deficits.
More Coverage
The Education Wonks on Bush's proposals on education in the SOTU.
La Shawn Barber on Bush's immigration mention.
Lonewacko on the SOTU immigration remarks Tim Kaine's Democrat response to the SOTU and how his immigration comments are far from the fact that Tim Kaine supports illegal aliens through state funded day laborer centers and in-state tuition for illegal aliens.
