Regarding the immigration bill, I think the basic calculation isn't "this bill or nothing," it's "this bill or nothing now but something else two years from now." Major reform legislation of this type is a once every couple of decades kind of thing, so whatever framework is put into place now is unlikely to be revisited for quite some time.
So, add 4 Dem senators, 10 House members, and a president, and can something better happen in 2009?
