HILLARY TAKES A FIRM STAND

Some of Senator Clinton’s opponents have charged that she tries to come out on all sides of an issue and refuses to commit to anything that might offend a voter somewhere Now she has come out unequivocally in favor of New York governor Eliott Spitzer’s decision to withdraw his proposal to grant driver’s licenses to illegal immigrants. The governor’s goal was to make the roads safer and to bring illegal immigrants out of the shadows.

The governor’s proposal made him the target of slings and arrows from every direction. When the topic came up in the Democratic debates two weeks ago, Mrs. Clinton in effect said, “Yes, no, maybe, let me think about it.” Her opponents suggested that maybe the New York senator was waffling just a little bit:

A spokesman for Barack Obama said, "When it takes two weeks and six different positions to answer one question on immigration, it's easier to understand why the Clinton campaign would rather plant their questions than answer them." Someone from Christopher Dodd’s campaign committee said of Mrs. Clinton was, "flip-flopping cubed. She was for it before she was against it, before she was for it, before she was against it."

Now that Sptizer has stuck his neck out and got his head chopped off, Mrs. Clinton has assumed a firm position on the issue: "I support Governor Spitzer's decision today to withdraw his proposal. As president, I will not support driver's licenses for undocumented people and will press for comprehensive immigration reform that deals with all of the issues around illegal immigration including border security and fixing our broken system." How is that for telling it like it is?

You won’t find Democratic candidate Dr. Carl Perrin hemming and hawing like that. As soon as he decides which way the wind is blowing and what position will be best for his campaign, he will embrace it.