Bush finally admits it - Senate bill would provide amnesty to illegals, and he will abandon his political base to get it

He has tried all along to deny it, but finally, President Bush spoke the truth. He said this week that the immigration legislation being considered by the Senate will provide amnesty to those in the United States illegally. Specifically he said "You know, I've heard all the rhetoric — you've heard it too — about how this is amnesty. Amnesty means that you've got to pay a price for having been here illegally, and this bill does that."

Within a few hours, presidential spokesman Tony Snow was dispatching a what-the-president-meant-to-say e-mail to reporters: "Today, in speaking about comprehensive immigration reform, President Bush misspoke."

But Bush not only got his words backward, he's got his values backward, too. One former advisor says the president is going to the mat over immigration in an effort to leave behind a domestic achievement to make up for the war in Iraq.

'There's no question that this is his last opportunity to do something that is fairly popular across America, and maybe wash away some of the bad taste from Iraq,' the former official claimed.

'He really has just this one chance. ... He doesn't care much what his base thinks.' Yes, that would be the political base that got Bush elected, twice and has sided with him through thick and thin.