Demagogue

Tonight, in a televised address from the Oval Office, President Bush is expected to propose sending thousands of National Guard troops to the Mexican border in the hope of reducing illegal immigration. Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-Neb.) offered this assessment of the president's reported plan:

“We’ve got National Guard members on their second, third and fourth tours in Iraq. We have stretched our military as thin as we have ever seen it in modern times. And what in the world are we talking about here, sending a National Guard that we may not have any capacity to send up to or down to protect borders? That’s not their role.”