When Republicans Dropped the Ball

A couple of nights ago, during the Republican debate, there was a fiery exchange over immigration. Rudy Giuliani and John McCain went head-to-head against Mitt Romney, defending their position as fair and non-amnesty. The two did a good job of bringing Ronald Reagan into their fold, who offered flat out amnesty in 1986, and making the case that the penalties that go along with their plan means it is not amnesty.

Yet, as Joe Klein pointed out in audio here, Romney did well because neither Giuliani nor McCain ever hammered him with the obvious question: How are you going to get 12,000,000 illegals out of the US?

Rudy said to ship out those who have committed crimes, a much more manageable figure. But Romney decried that idea as amnesty. Yet he never said how he would get all illegal immigrants out of the US. And because McCain and Giuliani dropped the ball, he didn't have to.