Wednesday, April 07, 2004

An IR Thought, While Being As Un-Political As Possible...

This morning, I was listening to talk radio, as I often do on my morning commute while taking my youngest son to school. A conservative talk show host (not Rush) was confused and beside himself about why President Bush and now his brother, Governor Jeb Bush, do not take hard stances against the issue of illegal immigration. In fact, both President Bush and his brother tend to lean towards policies that seem to "reward" coming to the U.S. illegally while citing compassion as the reason.

I think I do understand why they differ from party-line on this issue, and if my hunch is correct, it has nothing to do with politics. President and Gov. Bush have immediate family members who are interracially married into the Hispanic nation and those family members have biracial children. It would not be unreasonable to think that their opinions and feelings about those family members might spill over into their politics.

Is that right? Is that conservative? Is that good decision-making? Probably not, but it is very human. And in regard to interracial issues, it's a bold stance to take which I can respect (if that is the reason)...even if I don't agree with it, politically.

That's just my thoughts on the issue, from an IR perspective. What do you think? Feel free to comment below.

Best Wishes,
Allen