President Bush made a rare visit to Capitol Hill on Tuesday. He had lunch with Senate Republicans — and plugged the immigration bill that he supports but which many GOP senators oppose. The president said the current situation on immigration is unacceptable. But it's not clear whether he gained any new votes with his visit.
Last week, a test vote for the immigration bill failed in the Senate, effectively stalling the measure, which would legalize the 12 million undocumented immigrants in the United States while tightening border security and instituting a temporary guest worker program. It's the first part that has alienated many republicans from the measure, which they call amnesty.
Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky said he didn't think any Republican who attended the lunch was unimpressed by the president's feelings on the issue, but he said there no clear converts to the president's cause.
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