Obama links anti-immigration mood to economic concerns

Obama hopes for sane solutions

By Derrick Z. Jackson
Globe Columnist / December 4, 2007

BARACK OBAMA talked softly that he would beat off the big stick the Republicans are sure to wield on immigration. "Yes we have to have comprehensive immigration reform, we have to be serious about border security, we have to crack down on employers who are taking advantage of illegal immigrants, and we have to have a pathway to citizenship for the 12 million who are here," the Illinois senator told the Globe's editorial board yesterday in its series of endorsement interviews before the New Hampshire primary.

"But the politics of immigration I don't think will change until American workers feel as if somebody is listening to them, looking out for them, fighting for them and their economic concerns . . . If people see that we're taking those steps, then it puts them in a more generous mood when it comes to immigrants."

...Obama yesterday said that Dobbs, radio host Rush Limbaugh, and "the machinery of anti-immigration talk has had its impact," forcing him to answer many questions on the issue from Democrats in his campaign stops. But he asserted that the 2006 midterms also showed the issue's limits. The Democrats were returned to the majority in the House and Senate as anger over the Iraq war trumped immigration.

"It is an indicator of the economic anxiety that people are feeling right now," Obama said. "I see anti-immigrant sentiment as growing out of the same soil as anti-trade sentiment. People feel as if globalization is making their lives more insecure, less stable. . . . They're working harder for less. They've never paid more for healthcare or college. It's harder to save. It's harder to retire. They're maxed out on their credit cards. They're taking out home equity loans to keep pace."

The question for nominee Obama would be if he can get such Americans to focus on sane solutions instead of scapegoating...

http://www.boston.com/news/nation/articles/2007/12/04/obama_hopes_for_sane_solutions/