Criticizing and defending President Bush and other top officials in his administration has become a national obsession. The anti-Bush people will stop at nothing including most recently a claim that I heard that Soviet President Putin, with all of his horrible faults, was good for the world because he was an effective counterpoint to President Bush. On the other hand, those who believe that the administration's war on terror is absolutely in the best interests of the country are equally adamant. Regardless of how one weighs in on this national debate, fair-minded people have to at least conclude that the President is trying to do his job. The same can't be said for the Congress.

This nation currently faces two horrendous problems that threaten the very foundations of our society. The first involves immigration, and the second the energy crisis. The Congress on an urgent, expedited basis should address both these issues. Instead, our wonderful legislature has decided to stick its head in the sand and concentrate on something the legislators believe is more important -- namely getting reelected.

With respect to immigration, there is no question but that the United States has lost control of its southern border. Moreover, the problem is likely to become exacerbated and the flow of illegal immigrants will increase substantially as Mexico -- because of the recent disputed presidential election -- teeters on the brink of civil war. The Mexican courts have declared the conservative to be the winner; but the leftist, unlike Al Gore, has refused to yield to the decision of the courts and has insisted that he will continue to fight for the presidency. Already his supporters locked outgoing president Fox out of the legislature, and there is a real chance that civil war could erupt in Mexico. If this occurs, does anyone doubt that there will be a huge new flow of illegal immigrants putting pressure on every possible entry point of the United States' southern border?

Miraculously, a couple of months ago most Democratic and Republican senators put aside politics and fashioned a compromise which called for both a tightening of the border with construction of barriers (physical and electronic), as well as a process to provide legal status to the vast majority of the illegals in the United States. This compromise legislation would have balanced the need of American employers with the necessity of keeping out illegal immigrants in the future.

The House of Representatives couldn't get to first base in its consideration of the Senate's legislation. Instead it was politics, politics, and politics. Leading the charge were those in the House who felt their best chance for reelection was in taking a hard line against “amnesty” for illegals. The hardliners carried the day, and the immigration measure is doomed for this Congress, even though President Bush had made comprehensive changes in immigration laws a priority (even making the issue the subject of a prime time address).

On energy, we watched all summer as gasoline prices rose well in excess of $3 a gallon in most parts of the country. The risk of an oil reduction from Iran and Nigeria, as well as the potential of storms in the Gulf of Mexico, has posed a threat for the last couple of months. All of this added immediacy to the longer-term threat that U.S. energy supplies are being held hostage to Middle Eastern regimes. The next oil shock may be violent if, for example, Shiites backed by Iran and using Iranian missiles attack Saudi oil production. The armed guards who defend the Saudi oil infrastructure will be totally ineffective against missiles flying over their heads. What happens when the price of oil rises to $100 a barrel and above? It will be too late to address the problem then.

Some are pointing with relief to the fact that oil has dropped below $70 a barrel for the first time in months, but that has to be viewed as a short lived economic benefit. There have been new discoveries in the Gulf of Mexico, but their order of magnitude is not nearly sufficient to address the ongoing problem and the future threat. Congress has done nothing to even deal with this problem.

Looking at this sorry record, there is one constructive step which this Congress can now take as we move into September. It should close up shop, leave Washington, and admit its failure to the American people. At least that way this Congress would be remembered for something.