Posted on 05/23/2006 8:45:49 PM PDT by dennisw
President George W. Bush seemed unusually heartfelt when he addressed the nation last week on immigration reform. For the president, immigration is not just a matter of politics or policy, it's personal. Bush has always been drawn to stories of Latino immigrants who came up by their bootstraps. In an interview with Hispanic Magazine in 2004, he described Paula Rendón, "who came up from Mexico to work in our house" when Bush was a boy growing up in Midland, Texas. "She loved me. She chewed me out. She tried to shape me up," said Bush. "And I have grown to love her like a second mom." Bush recalled Rendón's pride in seeing "her grandkids go to college for the first time."
Bush has another inspiring example close to home. For more than a decade, Maria Galvan, 53, has worked for Bush, looked after his daughters, befriended his wife and won the affection of the First Family for her loyalty, decency and hard work. As governor of Texas, Bush encouraged his housekeeper to become a U.S. citizen. Bush's own brother, Florida Gov. Jeb Bush, married a Latino, and Jeb's eldest son, George P. Bush, is seen as a candidate to go into the family business.
"He appreciates how close Latino families are with each other," says Israel Hernandez, an early campaign aide whom Bush hired after hearing his family story. "For a long time, he's talked about how these are the qualities he thinks the party represents. He has always talked about immigration in a very compassionate way." But the president's willingness to help illegal immigrants on the path to citizenship sets him apart from many vocal conservatives in the GOP.
(Excerpt) Read more at msnbc.msn.com ...
Me too. And you know what? They didn't take advantage of the taxpayers, or knock more qualified people out of jobs and seats at universities under affirmative action.
I don’t understand either the comments about close families or family values and hard working.
What about the ones that have left their families? Or those that bring their families here, the parents do not take any value in their kids, these kids have the highest dropout rates, and the most likely to join gangs, and don’t contribute to a family atmosphere by painting graffiti all over neighborhoods.
The hard working myth too is not easy to figure, US citizens work hard as youths, by law we send our kids to school, and become skilled at an early age as a result, and can become self sufficient without having to immigrate somewhere else for another opportunity and have to start over, like these workers who are supposed to be so hard working, but what did they do in their youth that made them bankrupt and turned them into economic refugees, were they idle while our kids were studying?
But I understand that a lot of people’s situations is not their doing, being born in a corrupt country without opportunity. I lost my spouse at an early age for example, and became a single parent, some bad fortunes are out of people’s control, but these things are not the norm.
Oh man, now MSNBC is singing the praises of a man they usually hate. Amazing how the tone changes when you carry the left's water.
Excellent point. Has anyone stopped to reflect on how much the gang/dropout/graffiti situation is no longer limited to the inner cities these days?
There are now street gangs in the most affluent places in the country. No one is safe, except maybe people who have Secret Service Protection. The President needs to get beyond his own experience and walk a mile in someone else's shoes.
Any money I would normally give to the GOP is going to the Minutemen.
Mexican/Hispanic family values is just so much hot air and rhetorical BS coming from spaced out conservatives. Who imagine their little brown pets made in their mold. Their high school dropout rate is sky-high and same for teen pregnancy. I don't know if single mothers are as bad their as in the Black community but their HS dropout rate is higher. Hispanic gangs are flourishing.
For that matter, why do El Presidente's anecdotal stories matter any more than the millions of citizens' anecdotal stories of their bad experiences with illegal immigrants?
The article is a hit piece. It wants to show how "out of touch", rich and privileged President Bush is.
Thanks no dems. As far as I know, I came up with that one myself although I've heard it put in other ways as well.
So, exactly how many illegals has the President employeed? Anyone asking the hard questions?
BLAST FROM THE PAST
I never took Spanish, so I could be way off base, but shouldn't it say Yeb! married a Latina? Three people authored this article; surely between the three of them at least ONE knew that Yeb! married a woman.
Then again, it's the media so probably not...
Blast from the past, indeed! :)
Well if he’s reading this..
Vete a la mierda, Jorge.
Aw man, I said I didn’t take Spanish; all I recognize there is George...and my imagination has to fill in the other blanks. And...yikes. It’s not good. ;^)
LOL, if it comes from me, you know it can’t be good. ;)
I KNOW! That is exactly what I was thinking! LOL!
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