by Fran Eaton
President Bush's comments to the National Restaurant Association members while in Chicago on the White House website (here) featured not only a scripted speech but answers to audience questions.
There were two glaring omissions, however . . .
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Sure, the questions were softball, but the President's impromptu responses reveal a lot about his attitude on a variety of topics from tort reform and the economy and tax cuts to foreign oil dependency and Iraqi government reform.
The focus of his words to restaurant owners -- who are the nation's biggest immigrant employers -- were the same as those mentioned last Monday night in his national speech. He flew to Chicago, where over 400,000 illegal immigrants and their supporters marched the streets May 1, to push for "comprehensive reform."
The WH script indicates the restaurant owners applauded when Bush mentioned a temporary worker program, a "rational middle ground" to resolve the legal status -- "without amnesty" -- of those who've been longtime residents.
There were two glaring omissions in Monday's speech: The President did not mention the need for a federal crackdown on employers who illegally hire illegal aliens, nor did he address the inappropriateness of Chicago acting as a sanctuary for immigration law breakers.
