Is The Border Fence Working?

Mexican nationals storming the border near San Diego, day and night. That was the early 1990s.

Today, on that border is double fencing, stadium lighting, surveillance cameras and motion detectors. It's the most heavily fortified five miles of the border - all monitored from a command center near San Diego, CBS News correspondent Bill Whitaker reports.

"Over the years the San Diego sector has been able to incrementally gain operational control of this area," said Michael Fisher, the San Diego sector's chief patrol agent.

Proof? The number of people caught crossing illegally has dropped dramatically from 600,000 a year in the early '90s to just 153,000 last year.

Fewer apprehensions means fewer people sneaking across, says the Border Patrol.

Only 670 miles of the 2,000-mile border are to get fencing and that's behind schedule. The price tag: $1.2 billion, says the Border Patrol. That's up to $3 million per mile.

But factor in life-time maintenance and congressional researchers say the price could top $50 billion.

But won't they just move on down the road to the next property?" Whitaker asked.

"They will, they will," Hodges said. "It's just not going to stop as long as there's a market for illegals."

9.1 Percent

The Final Tally.

McCain's Reverend Wright?

(Q) John Hagee is the one who contends that New Orleans drew the wrath of God in Hurricane Katrina for a gay-pride parade that the city was planning. "What happened in New Orleans looked like the curse of God,'' Hagee told a radio talk show host again this week. "In time, if New Orleans recovers and becomes the pristine city it can become, it may in time be called a blessing. But at this time it's called a curse... I\It was a city that was planning a sinful conduct.''

"To this day, Rev. Hagee continues to blame the sins of the people of New Orleans for the catastrophe of Katrina, and yet Sen. McCain actively sought his endorsement and has refused to condemn his comments,"

"On Sunday he maintained he was "glad to have" Hagee's endorsement.
However...when McCain ran for president in 2000, he chastized then-Governor Bush for “seeking the support of Southern fundamentalists who have expressed anti-Catholic views,” saying that he “would condemn openly” such “agents of intolerance.” Now he says such intolerance is just “taken out of context.”

Catholic League president Bill Donahue has answered back:

"Did we also mischaracterize Hagee when he called my religion 'The Great Whore,' the 'apostate church,' the 'anti-Christ' and a 'false cult system'? McCain cannot ignore Hagee's lies any more than he can tolerate his bigotry. This is getting out of control."

It is interesting how John McCain is getting a pass on this from the Media? The Media is not asking, nor is John McCain willing to denounce/renounce/reject these statements...hmmm.

McCain Warns That Democrats Will Unify

From the latest Evans-Novak Political Report:

"Obama's difficulties and the prolongation of the Clinton-Obama confrontation have lifted Republicans from their slough of despondence to optimism about the presidential election. The transformation from deep pessimism to overriding optimism is such that McCain is privately warning supporters that once the nomination is decided and supporters of the losing Democratic candidate return to the fold, he will fall behind badly (though, McCain hopes, temporarily)."

Also: "High-level Republican contributors and fund-raisers complain that the McCain campaign has not got its act in order and is still badly disorganized. This comes from very heavy GOP hitters."