Border fence or border farce?

President Bush put on quite a show in Arizona last week when he signed a bill authorizing a 700‑mile fence along the border with Mexico. The story made the front page of newspapers across the nation, but the real story was squirreled away and garnered considerably less ink.

The day Bush signed the bill, Rep. John Cornyn, a Texas Republican, said the border fence won’t likely be built because Congress hasn’t appropriated the money.

“It’s one thing to authorize.

It’s another thing to actually appropriate the money and do it,” Cornyn said, according to Cox News Service.

The fence is estimated to cost between $2 billion and $7 billion, but Congress has set aside only $1.2 billion.

So here we go again ... Bush and a politically troubled GOP put on their schtick–the illusion of doing something about cracking down on illegal immigration–when in fact it is all smoke and mirrors. Or in this case, a photo‑op replete with flags and soaring rhetoric.

During his fundraising stop in Scottsdale, Bush reportedly told those attending: “Vote Republican for the safety of the United States.”

Mr. Bush, with all due respect, all you have done is sign a worthless piece of paper.