From the Dept. of Bickering: McCain, Obama and Immigration

Even as Republican presumptive presidential nominee Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) wooed Latino officials at a conference Saturday, Democrats were gunning for him on the issue of immigration. McCain stressed his commitment to comprehensive immigration reform -- and enforcement -- at a conference of the National Assn. of Latino Elected and Appointed Officials (NALEO), covered by Los Angeles Times reporter Richard Simon.

On the same day, Democrats released a video called McCain vs. McCain: Immigration Reform that purports to show McCain flip-flopping on whether enforcement should come first, or whether Congress should try for broad reform that gives some legal status to the estimated 12 million illegal immigrants now in the U.S. First, McCain tells the NALEO members that enforcement must come first, then he is shown saying comprehensive reform will be his "top priority yesterday, today, and tomorrow." The short video finishes with a clip of McCain from a January 2008 presidential debate saying that now he wouldn't vote for the comprehensive immigration bill he helped write in 2006. Karen Finney, communications director of the Democratic National Committee, which made and distributed the video, said: "Apparently, Senator McCain's idea of 'straight talk' means giving two different answers to a straightforward question."

The McCain camp, not to be outdone, countered with a three-page memo alleging that Obama supported "poison pill" amendments designed to kill the immigration reform bill in 2007. "While John McCain was reaching across the aisle to solve the tough problem of immigration reform, Barack Obama was working for politics as usual in Washington," said McCain spokesman Brian Rogers.

--Nicole Gaouette in Washington

Comments

[Dreamer]

Terry,

Our economy going down the toilet uh? Well, raiding and deporting immigrants is making it worse. Did you know that immigrants, legal and illegal give a boost to the economy? or don't tell me you didn't know and think what you hear on the media? Instead of "draining" the economy it is actually helped.

http://www.whitehouse.gov/cea/cea_immigration_062007.html

Maybe this is why many businesses and those that are well educated and informed see the need for an immigration reform. This is one of the reasons why the candidates talk about a CIR, but there are those that might be xenophobic and accepting the fact that this nation is milking illegal immigrants is hard to accept and just because of these people in power that are strongly against any type of reform, the candidates flip-flop.

God Bless America.

[new yorker]

McCain is fighting to get in on a piece of the richness, life is short, let someone else clean the mess your collegues left behine, with McCain we have a next term of our current leader, under recession & still funding war, borrowing to keep America alive.If you wants a immigration bill you will get it done before election, not just lying to get votes, we need change....

[Huh?]

Bob Barr!

[Terry]

So What....Both of these candidates would rather cater to the illegal aliens, special interest voting blocks, and corporate America. They could care less if the native citizens are flipping the bills or if our economic future is in the toilet. Speaks volumes about our political corrupt system of goverment. This government and its politicians need to be replaced.