Just received from a Hill source:

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Out-of-touch-with-reality quote of the morning:

“I think one of the things that we have to do is answer the skeptics, answer the doubters,” White House press secretary Tony Snow said Tuesday.

“We not only have a good sound bill, but it’s also one that a lot of conservatives, when they get a chance to look at it, will say OK,” he said on NBC’s “Today” show.

Jon Ward of the WashTimes reports:

The White House released news late last night that President Bush, on the plane ride home from his week-long trip to Europe, called three senators key to the immigration reform talks, “to thank them for their work on the immigration bill and strategize how to get it passed.”

Mr. Bush called Sen. [Jon] Kyl, Arizona Republican, Sen. Edward Kennedy, Massachusetts Democrat, and Sen. Ken Salazar, Colorado Democrat…

The meeting President Bush is scheduled to attend today is the weekly Senate Republican Policy Committee luncheon, chaired and hosted by Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison:

Every Tuesday that the Senate is in session, Republican Senators gather in the Capitol for a policy lunch meeting, hosted by Chairman Hutchison. This is the one scheduled time each week for all Republican Senators to gather and discuss issues before the Senate, review the anticipated agenda, and discuss policy options.

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A letter to Bush from enforcement-first Senators:

Dear Mr. President:

We respectfully ask that your Administration enforce the border security laws that have already been authorized by Congress regardless of whether the Senate passes the immigration reform bill. The bill assumes that several critical border security benchmarks can be achieved within 18 months. These security triggers are already authorized under current law and can be completed without the immigration bill. We believe these enforcement measures are vital and should not wait until Congress passes additional immigration reforms.

Securing the border is the best way to restore trust with the American people and facilitate future improvements of our immigration policy.

Sincerely,

U.S. Senators Jim DeMint (R — South Carolina), Tom Coburn (R — Oklahoma), Mike Enzi (R — Wyoming), David Vitter (R — Louisiana), Jim Inhofe (R — Oklahoma), Jim Bunning (R — Kentucky), Charles Grassley (R — Iowa), John Ensign (R — Nevada) and Jeff Sessions (R — Alabama).

Sens. Isakson and Chambliss weigh in: Fund border security through emergency appropriations.

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