Poll Shows Overwhelming Support for Militarized Border

The speculation that President Bush will order National Guard troops to the Southern U.S. Border may be enhanced by a poll taken just a month ago:

A Time magazine poll taken last month shows that Americans overwhelmingly favor deploying the National Guard to the U.S.-Mexican border - an idea that is expected to be the centerpiece of President Bush speech to the nation on immigration reform Monday night.

62 percent of those surveyed told Time that they would back a plan to militarize the border. Just 35 percent opposed.

56 percent told Time that they would favor building a wall across the entire U.S.-Mexican border - not the just 700 miles of fencing proposed in a plan passed by the House in December. Only 40 percent opposed.

Asked if President Bush should take "whatever steps [are] necessary to guard the border," 71 percent of Republicans said yes, along with 54 percent of Democrats.

Meanwhile, California Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger doesn't think it would be such a good idea:

California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger has come out against putting National Guard troops on the border, as President Bush will suggest on Monday night in a nationally televised speech.

"There is all kinds of talk about now that should we use the National Guard," Schwarzenegger explains. "I think that the key thing is that we secure our borders. Going the direction of the National Guard, I think is maybe not the right way to go because I think that the Bush administration and the federal government should put up the money to create the kind of protection that the federal government is responsible to provide."

Read the polls, governor, if you'd like to be reelected in November. As far as the funding goes, I'd be very surprised if the president's plan did not call for federal funding of the National Guard mission, should he decide to go that direction.