McCain On Border Security

When John McCain spoke (before Barack Obama) on July 8, 2008 before the League of United Latin American Citizens, he commented only briefly on immigration/illegal immigration. But he did remark

Many Americans, with good cause, did not believe us when we said we would secure our borders, and so we failed in our efforts. We must prove to them that we can and will secure our borders first, while respecting the dignity and rights of citizens and legal residents of the United States of America...

Note McCain said: a) "We must prove to them that we can and will secure our borders first"(emphasis mine) and b) Americans did not believe us when we said we would secure borders and so we failed in our efforts" (emphasis mine). Taken together (or even the second remark alone), the statement does not mean that he believes that the borders must be secured first (and does anyone believe that we're going to secure the Canadian border first, second, or even third?) but merely that people need to believe that the border(s) will be "secured first."

Perhaps if elected, McCain will start the snow job with his signature "a little straight talk," then try to convince the American people that the border will be "secured" (and how does one measure "secured"?) prior to laying a path for citizenship. I don't want to give my liberal/progressive readers a reason to vote for John McCain for President; there isn't much of a reason. But if you favor "comprehensive immigration reform," "amnesty," or (far worse) a guest worker program, rest easy: so does John McCain.