WASHINGTON — On Tuesday President Barack Obama spoke up about the immigration reform bill that was overwhelmingly (84 to 15) voted for debate.Although he hasn't seen eye to eye with Republican Congressmen on issues such as the budget and gun control, he offered a wholehearted endorsement of the bipartisan proposal, but also warned that “this bill isn’t perfect; it’s a compromise. Going forward, nobody is going to get everything they want. Not Democrats, not Republicans, not me.”
President Obama encouraged the overhaul of immigration of the country, telling the split Congress that he expected grueling debate from each side about issues such as border security and healthcare benefits. “If you’re serious about actually fixing the system, then this is the vehicle to do it,” President Obama declared. “If you’re not serious about it, if you think that a broken system is the best America can do, then I guess it makes sense to try to block it.”
His speech in the East room yesterday was his most rallying since January, when he spoke in Las Vegas. It had drawn a positive response from Republicans, and analysts claim that he was trying to recreate the effect. However, it is dangerous to overestimate Obama's role in the debate. “There’s no question that the president has a delicate dance,” said Ben Johnson, the executive director of the American Immigration Council. “He’s got to strike the right tone and the right balance of using the office effectively and not trampling on the process that’s currently under way.”
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