I agree with David Plouffe that President Obama’s executive order to concentrate illegal immigration enforcement on areas other than on young people brought here as children by their parents is not political. However, making the announcment on what would otherwise might have been an uninteresting administrative step in the Rose Garden to great hoopla was political.
I disagree.
I think the entire Rose Garden speech was generated by sheer desperation in attempting to find something, anything, to hang Obama’s hat on in a positive vein. Like I mentioned earlier, Obama’s Ohio speech Thursday, which was meant to restart and reframe his candidacy, was a bust. Immigration has been churning around the Obama WH since the Dream Act failed. Now with Rubio making noises that he was on the precipice of creating his own ‘Republican’ version of the Dream Act, Obama’s numbers going down, as criticism of his presidency were going up, the Friday Immigration announcement was meant as a political stimulus to inject enthusiasm into his flailing election bid.
Did it work?
Well, on the Sunday shows, despite it being cited as a curious time to present it — on a Friday — Obama’s surrogates were given fodder to once again cite something brilliant, pertaining to Obama. Howard Dean and others called it ‘brilliant’ politics to plunk this edict out there, preempting Rubio and putting Romney on the spot. Hispanics loved it, without thinking much past it’s immediate relief measures.
So, was this done for the sake of helping young hispanics? IMO, it was done, to once again, give political assistance and cover to Barak Obama.
As a side note: most people now think that the more substantial assistance, that would have been given by Rubio’s bill, to young hispanics, is DOA. Rubio’s legislation would have had more long range influences over determining the future of young illegal hispanics now residing (hiding) in this country, while, all Obama’s does is give a 2-year deferment. I think it might actually serve to set the whole immigration process at a standstill (because of the bipartisan bickering and further animosity created), or even backwards.
I think, like most things, the President’s motivations are diverse. I think it was political but also heart-felt.
By the way this was not an ‘Executive Order’. But political? Yeah, in spades. Around the country his campaign offices experienced sit-in’s by these ‘children’. He was losing enthusiasm among his Hispanic supporters and Rubio’s support of a modified DREAM Act gaining support made Team Obama very anxious. Actually, I think they wanted to hold this back as an October Surprise. But the millions of the still unemployed/underemployed/justgaveuplooking and Blacks aren’t going to be too, too happy about this move.