No Virtual Fences

Deborah Orin of the New York Post reports that part of the President's proposal Monday night will be a "virtual fence" along the border.

As Hugh Hewitt says, the White House isn't protected by a virtual fence. A virtual fence isn't good enough for our country, either.

Orin also reports that the President will talk about "letting those who are here already get in line" for citizenship.

No, no, no.

Mr. President, we want a real plan for real border security. No discussions about "normalization" for those who are here illegally until we solve the more pressing question of complete border security and are assured we won't have millions more people illegally entering this country and demanding citizenship and its benefits. The National Guard would be a step in the right direction, but only a real fence is a real, permanent solution.

Ed Morrissey at Captain's Quarters is more optimistic. He doesn't believe President Bush would be making an Oval Office speech without plans to offer a very significant change in direction on immigration. If he repeats the old theme of "hardworking immigrants doing jobs that Americans won't do, it will be a mistake of gargantuan proportions."

Ed concludes with this positive thought: "The voices of the people have been heard, and their representatives have made some long-overdue adjustments. This proves that remaining engaged but not offering blind brand loyalty can bring change. We need to remain engaged in this battle and on spending in order to continue to return the GOP to core conservative values."

I hope that on Monday night Ed's optimism is proven correct and that the President, who is a very smart man, will once again show that he has the courage to do a hard job that needs to be done.