Specter of a Backbone

"While the task force is largely symbolic -- there is no new money for it -- the president's fresh emphasis on assimilation is part of a strategy by the White House to unite Republicans in the House and Senate around what Mr. Bush calls 'comprehensive immigration reform.' "

Here is Bush's executive order creating the new task force. Here's the text of his remarks in Omaha.

Shmoozing

Bush toured a Catholic Charities social center, meeting with two groups of immigrants.

Pool reporter Stephen Dinan of the Washington Times wrote to his peers that Bush joked with one man who had two young children, warning him to watch out when they become teenagers. "You think my hair is gray because I'm president?" Bush asked. "No, my hair is gray because of teenage daughters."

Bush also said his favorite food is cheese enchiladas.

That said, there's a limit to Bush's appetite for Mexican food.

The Omaha World-Herald reports that the owner of El Alamo Restaurant in Omaha, who was asked to prepare breakfast burritos for the event (with bacon, ham and standard American breakfast sausage, instead of the standard chorizo), was later told that Bush "had his fill of Mexican food Tuesday."

Bush on Chavez

And as Abramowitz notes in The Post: "Bush took an unexpected shot at Venezuelan President Hugo Chavez, with whom the administration has long been at odds. Told by one woman at the center, Lourdes Secola, that she was from Venezuela, Bush said he is worried about her country.

" 'I think it will be okay,' Bush told Secola. 'But it's going to take awhile. Sometimes leaders show up who do a great disservice to the traditions and people of a country.' "

Bubble Watch

Richard Wolffe and Holly Bailey write for Newsweek: "Administration officials have touted Bush's recent speeches on immigration as a sign that he's exerting the muscle that many lawmakers in Congress had complained was lacking in recent months. Yet, just as he did in his failed push on Social Security last year, Bush has been delivering his sales pitch mainly before friendly audiences that are already on board with his plan, as opposed to those who really need convincing."

Gay Marriage Watch

Shailagh Murray writes in The Washington Post: "A constitutional amendment to ban same-sex marriage, backed by President Bush and conservative groups, was soundly defeated in the Senate yesterday after proponents failed to persuade a bare majority of all senators to support the measure."

Another New Chapter?

Here is the official White House response to the defeat of the measure: "Today's Senate vote on the Marriage Protection Amendment marks the start of a new chapter in this important national debate," Bush said, somewhat inexplicably.

Bush (41) v. Rumsfeld

Sidney Blumenthal writes in Salon: "Former President George H.W. Bush waged a secret campaign over several months early this year to remove Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The elder Bush went so far as to recruit Rumsfeld's potential replacement, personally asking a retired four-star general if he would accept the position, a reliable source close to the general told me. But the former president's effort failed, apparently rebuffed by the current president. When seven retired generals who had been commanders in Iraq demanded Rumsfeld's resignation in April, the younger Bush leapt to his defense. 'I'm the decider and I decide what's best. And what's best is for Don Rumsfeld to remain,' he said. His endorsement of Rumsfeld was a rebuke not only to the generals but also to his father."

Froomkin Watch

No column tomorrow. I'm off this afternoon to the YearlyKos convention in Las Vegas, where I've been invited to speak on a panel tomorrow at 9:30 a.m. Pacific Time about the CIA leak investigation. My fellow panelists include Ambassador Joseph C. Wilson IV, National Journal reporter Murray Waas, former CIA officer Larry C. Johnson, and bloggers Marcy Wheeler and Christy Hardin Smith. Here's some information on live coverage .

This Should Be Fun

The New York Daily News reports that it's Washington bureau chief, Thomas M. DeFrank, has won the Gerald R. Ford Prize for Distinguished Reporting on the Presidency .

"Vice President Cheney, once President Ford's chief of staff, will present the award at a National Press Club luncheon June 19."

The ex-president's nonprofit foundation "singled out three articles from last fall: a story reporting that Bush had rebuked senior adviser Karl Rove in 2003 for his role in the Valerie Plame case [ Bush whacked Rove on CIA leak ]; a story describing the erosion of the Bush-Cheney relationship [ Dubya-Cheney ties frayed by scandal ], and a story describing Bush as 'frustrated, sometimes angry and even bitter,' and recounting how he was lashing out at junior aides [ Bushies feeling the boss' wrath ]."