When it comes to immigration policy, there isn't much difference between any of the main contenders for the presidency in 2008. Immigration is a "third rail" issue in election year politics, i.e. potentially deadly. These days, it is so contentious and so unresolved in the public domain that a common tactic is avoidance. Either that, or a safe, rehearsed answer that doesn't go much beyond predictable rhetoric. This is too bad, because immigration is among the top foreign policy and national security concerns mentioned by Americans in polls-- along with the economy, Iraq and healthcare.

Despite the talk among public figures and commentators about the need for unifying ideas in today's political arena, the presidential candidates and their policies regarding Iraq couldn't be less suited to cross the aisle of partisan politics. In the presidential race, Senators Clinton and Obama have both put forward proposals to end the military conflict-- by bringing troops home or redeploying them elsewhere. Senator McCain believes that we need to stick with the status-quo and advocates sending even more troops.

Last month, Congress passed a defense budget that will cost American taxpayers over $500 billion dollars...and when you add in the costs of the wars in Iraq and Afghanistan, the numbers get closer to $1 trillion. To put these numbers in context, the United States spends more than the next 45 highest spending countries in the world combined. In our own budget, the defense portion of the budget (again, minus the wars) takes up 54% of the money that Congress has available to spend this year.

Unlike domestic policy, the American public is usually willing to leave foreign affairs to the "experts" unless things are seriously off course. According to polling done by Public Agenda, the contemporary anxiety indicator stands at 136 on a scale where 150 indicates a collapse of confidence in the government's foreign policy. In general, over the past two years, Americans have less and less confidence that our present strategies will enhance US security.