Reaching across the aisle

George W. Bush still can't seem to understand that Republicans no longer control the legislative agenda.

Nicole Gaouette writes in the Los Angeles Times: "With President Bush looking to counter a legacy increasingly marred by the war in Iraq, the White House has launched a bold, behind-the-scenes drive to advance a key domestic goal: immigration reform.

"For a month, White House staffers and Cabinet members have met three to four times a week with influential Republican senators and aides to hash out a consensus plan designed to draw a significant number of GOP votes. . . .

"The intense effort -- conceived by the president's chief political strategist, Karl Rove -- is intended to ensure that Bush will achieve at least one crucial policy victory in the last two years of his presidency."

Democrats consider some aspects of Bush's plan much too restrictive -- but far from shifting his position to appeal to them, Bush is apparently adding even more restrictions, in an attempt to win over Republicans.

David Espo writes for the Associated Press: "The Bush administration floated elements of an immigration plan on Wednesday that would make it harder for millions of illegal immigrants to gain citizenship than under legislation passed by the Senate last year, according to officials in both parties."

Does Rove's dick really think he's going to win on this one? It's obviously just another sop to the wingnuts in his party, and, I gotta tell you, that population isn't getting any larger.