Obama and Perry talk border issues: Who has upper hand?
| WASHINGTON
President Obama and Texas Gov. Rick Perry (R) will meet to discuss border issues after all. Governor Perry accepted a White House invitation to join a Dallas meeting with local officials and faith leaders on the immigration crisis that takes place late Wednesday afternoon.
Will there be a ritual photograph of the two men exchanging some sort of greeting? There may be, but Perry has successfully upgraded his presidential encounter from a tarmac handshake to something that can be described as substantive. He鈥檇 refused a previously offered grip-and-grin with Mr. Obama at the Austin airport. So, in that sense, the outcome 鈥� so far 鈥� looks like a Perry win.
By 鈥渨in," we mean it might boost Perry鈥檚 stature within his own party. He has forced Obama to change his plans (somewhat) and will get to put himself on the US chief executive鈥檚 level with an exchange of ideas. That鈥檚 a big step up for a possible 2016 presidential candidate whose 2012 campaign ended in a pile of 鈥渙ops鈥� during a nationally televised debate. It might help Perry appear more presidential to GOP primary voters. It will certainly help him with the conservative core, many of whom want their party to stand up to Obama, particularly on the immigration issue.
鈥淩ick Perry two-stepped his way back into the national spotlight this week, using the crisis at the border to skewer President Barack Obama while pumping up his own conservative bona fides,鈥� reads the top of 聽on Wednesday.聽
Perry鈥檚 gain is not necessarily Obama鈥檚 loss, however. For one thing, the president is already in trouble on the appearances of his Texas visit, whatever the outcome of his negotiations with the Lone Star State鈥檚 governor. Even some Democrats have questioned his decision to not travel to the border during a Texas swing largely devoted to fundraising for congressional candidates. Pushed on this issue, the White House seems to have doubled down on its resolution to not engage in a visit that many officials regard as mere staged political theater. The result?
鈥淎s he travels to Texas today, President Obama as a clear optics problem,鈥�
Perhaps the Perry visit offers a solution to Obama鈥檚 dilemma. He can say something about how he enjoyed the full and frank exchange of views with Perry on a matter of great importance to the nation. Then he can pivot and compare Perry鈥檚 willingness to meet with the hostility of congressional Republicans, who have been decidedly cool to Obama鈥檚 request for $3.7 billion in additional cash to help pay for additional border protections.
Maybe the House GOP leadership will push for a less-expensive effort, or otherwise offer a plan for further action. If they just say 鈥渘o,鈥� they risk appearing as 鈥渁ll hat and no cattle,鈥� in a phrase beloved by generations of Texas politicians. And that might open the way to an even more expansive use of presidential authority by the White House. As the Washington Post鈥檚 Greg Sargent reports on his left-leaning , the administration is discussing whether it can unilaterally ease the pace of deportations.
鈥淭his is going to be one of the most consequential decisions of his presidency in substantive, moral and legal terms, and politically, it could set off a bomb this fall, in the middle of the midterm elections,鈥� writes Mr. Sargent.
