President Bush just finished addressing the nation from the Oval Office, having been driven to it by the current cacophony over illegal immigration into the U.S.

He didn’t say much of anything new, repeating his old and well-known position on enforcement and a guest worker program, and a comprehensive bill including both.

He started by talking about better enforcement of our southern border, as expected; but in saying he’ll send the National Guard to the border (for a year) to help out is the worst kind of pandering to the public concern. What happens when they leave? He promised 6,000 more border patrol agents; by comparison, the NYPD numbers 35,000, according to CNN.

After that he trailed off into his “five-point plan,” which didn’t contain anything new. Vague clichés, platitudes, and lip service.

At least his appearance indicated he has finally started reading the papers and realizes there’s something going on out here.