"It does not take a stethoscope to hear the pulse of New Yorkers on this topic," Mr. Spitzer said, standing with a half-dozen members of New York’s Congressional delegation who had supported his original move to give licenses to illegal immigrants.

Illegal immigrants driving legally.

Admitting he has failed to sell New Yorkers on the merits of the plan, NY Gov. Spitzer is giving up his plan to license illegals to drive.

Merits? What are the merits of making it possible for people in a nation illegally to drive in that nation legally? What hubris: It is not that the plan was without merits, but that the voters just couldn't be convinced of the merits. The plan itself has the merits. The problem is the voters. (Darn them! Idiots!)

I wonder what he'd do for an encore. Offer chips and beer to a man who broke into his house to watch a football game?

"You're here illegally. But, by all means, help yourself to our streets."

Then there's Jose Serrano:

Today, it is not Spitzer that lost, it is America...because we could have gotten a long way in New York to dealing with a real issue.

Frankly I don't see the loss in a nation's asserting its sovereignty. Not licensing illegals is quite consistent with the notion of border enforcement, which is itself consistent with national sovereignty. I don't see the loss in a nation's refusing to make it easier for those who have crossed its borders illegally to travel about on its roads with impunity. (Here's something I'd like to see: for Spitzer and his ilk cross into Mexico, or even Canada, illegally and apply for a driver's license. I'm keen to learn how that works out for them!)

It is amusing -- bit in no way surprising -- to note that, for Serrano, "dealing with a real issue" means dealing with it the way Democrats think it should be dealt with. My way or the highway! So to speak. Like the way some couples compromise.

Husband: I want a dog. She wants a cat.
Friend: So what are you going to do?
Husband: We compromised.
Friend: Oh? How's that?
Husband: We're getting a cat.

One has to wonder just how a nation loses by treating people as if they truly are in said nation illegally.

"Mr. Auslander, you're here illegally. Now, we can't have you driving on our roads without a license. So, here's your license. And remember, Mr. Auslander: if you break any of our really important laws (not our immigration laws, of course) you may be subject to deportation. So behave yourself out there. Seriously. We mean it. Really. No foolin'."

Like Yakov Smirnof used to say: "What a country!"