Failure of Immigration

Voters want an immigration deal. The problem was on the inside of the Senate chamber. The collective failure of the two parties already appears to have stimulated interest inan independent or third party candidate for president in 2008. The main promise will be to make Washington work. It is easy to imagine the immigration impasse finding its way into a television commercial.

If Washington cannot produce a solution to the glaring problems of immigration, they will ask, what hope is there for progress on the cost and coverage of health care, energy independence or the financial challenges looming for Medicare and Social Security. Iraq is another matter entirely.

Twice in two years now Congress has grappled with immigration. The first time, Republicans controlled the White House and both houses of Congress, but President Bush could not persuade members of his own deeply divided party to resolve their disagreements. The Republicans, responding to their conservative base, pushed for a tough border security bill but balked at dealing with the controversial question of how to treat 12 millions illegal immigrants in the country. This time the prospects seemed brighter. The bipartisan compromise bill in the Senate enjoyed the support of the president and Senate democratic leaders and some prominent senators from both parties, the kind of coalitiion that many politicians claim to prize. The immigration bill still ended up in a heap. The reality is most people are just desperate to see a solution. If this goes down, the opposition is not offering an alternative and that means the problem is still an issue. We're in a period where people are looking to see leadership and progress.