OPIINIIONS FROM OTHER NEWSPAPERS
Bush has to play hardball on reform

Before President Bush agrees to the border security measures Congress is rushing to put on his desk, he should make sure of one thing -- that House and Senate leaders are committed to taking up the other critical parts of the immigration solution after the November elections.

Without that agreement, which can be struck in private if that's the only way conservative Republicans will sign it, Americans won't get a better answer to what to do about the 12 million illegal immigrants living here and 400,000 coming annually.

To his enduring credit, Mr. Bush keeps insisting an immigration bill should include a guest worker program and a pathway to citizenship for some illegal immigrants.

Otherwise, Congress can build all the fences in the world and place agent on top of agent, and still not stop illegal immigration.

Most House Republicans and some Senate conservatives believe fences, agents and the like fix the problem.

But some House Republicans, including a few we've polled from North Texas, realize that the House can't stop there.

In fact, one GOP member suggested that the president needs a memorandum of understanding. If he approves the security plans, Congress must debate a way to create more legal workers.

That's a fair deal. And minus that commitment, the "border-security-only caucus," with which GOP House Speaker Dennis Hastert seems increasingly comfortable, will walk away and say, "Fine, we've dealt with immigration, next subject."

The president is right: America can't solve its immigration challenge without a comprehensive answer. He's not going to get it unless he plays hardball. Conduct of House leadership egregious

The scandal surrounding U.S. Rep. Mark Foley, the Florida Republican who resigned Friday, improves Democrats' chances to regain a majority in the House. However, partisan advantage is a long way from being the most salient feature of this story.

Foley makes a powerful example not only of corruption in high places, but also of the U.S. political arena's boundless capacity for hypocrisy.

The more some politicians talk of God, country, honor and the sanctity of the family, the more likely it is they have little regard for any of them.

Foley focused his political career on efforts to punish sexual predators and protect children from them.

Until his resignation, he co-chaired the Congressional Missing and Exploited Children's Caucus. He was the author of key sections of legislation to outlaw the online solicitation of sex with a minor.

Yet at least for a year he grotesquely exploited his association with young House pages, sending several of them overfriendly, sometimes sexually explicit electronic messages.

House Speaker Dennis Hastert, R-Ill., said at various times that he didn't know about the problem with Foley until the scandal became public two weeks ago , and that he couldn't remember being apprised of the situation months ago by Rep. Tom Reynolds, chairman of the National Republican Congressional Committee.

If one takes Hastert at his word, apparently he was told about inappropriate e-mails between a member and a page, but the information didn't register with the speaker.

Foley is the third Republican representative to resign his seat before the election.

Tom DeLay quit while fighting campaign finance charges and being investigated for his association with sleazy lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Rep. Bob Ney of Ohio resigned his seat and agreed to plead guilty to charges stemming from Abramoff's bribes and influence-peddling.

American voters cannot escape the conclusion that the House leadership failed to act against Foley in part because it feared the scandal would endanger the Republican majority in the coming election.

The House leaders' longstanding knowledge of Foley's indiscretions is perhaps the most disturbing element of the scandal.

Last weekend, Speaker Hastert asked U.S. Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to launch a criminal probe not only of Foley, but of all those who knew about his abhorrent behavior but apparently swept it under the rug.

Several Republicans in Texas are seeking re-election on the basis of their desire to protect children against sexual predators.

If they are sincere, they will express outrage not only at Foley's behavior, but at the grotesque failure of the House leadership to expose Foley and decisively act to protect the young pages in their charge.

-- Houston Chronicle