The Guard isn't the answer

President Bush is holding a rare live news conference at 7 PM Central tonight. It will be broadcast on network television across the country. It's reported that he's going to call for thousands of troops from the National Guard to help reinforce the border.

I'm pretty sure this is a bad idea.

I say "I'm pretty sure" and not "I know" because I want to hear more details from Bush. If this is just a fix for a few months while additional Border Patrolmen are trained, I'm not quite as against the idea. However, I have a feeling it's just a political gimmick intended to rally support from those who want serious law enforcement. If it is a gimmick, the Guard will be sent back once the hype has died down and nothing will ever change.

The Border Patrol needs to be doubled. Period. That's the only viable solution to the current shortage of manpower. I completely agree with Nebraska Senator Chuck Hagel.

Hagel said the bill under debate in the Senate that he helped write would double the 12,000-strong Border Patrol force over the next five years. "That's the way to fix it, not further stretching the National Guard," he said on ABC's "This Week."

Taking people who have put in multiple tours to Iraq and tearing them from their families again just to win political points is stupid. I hope that's not what Bush is doing, but I'll have to wait until tonight to be sure.