Wake Up Call: Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid tells the Detroit News that Obama and McCain reached an "agreement" to "move forward" on "comprehensive immigration reform" (i.e.: legalization) early in the next Congress.

Q: Will there be as much of a fight on immigration as last time?

A: We've got McCain and we've got a few others. I don't expect much of a fight at all.

Brian Faughnan has the details , and notes Sen. Menendez urging Senators to swallow the bitter immigration pill early, instead of close to the midterms when voters might remember. (That's because "comprehensive" reform is so popular!). .... 1) This is a stronger statement from Reid than I, for one, had expected; 2) The Senate has passed legalization before. They balked in 2007, but it's not clear that this year the biggest obstacle won't come in the House, where lots of newly-recruited centrist Dems ran tough-on-immigration campaigns. 3) Rahm? Rahm? Don't you maybe want to put a stop to this? 4) There are ample opportunities here for posturing and "make believe "--e.g., scoring points with Hispanic groups by voting for a reform that you don't think will actually pass. Of course, if enough legislators vote for a reform thinking it won't actually pass it might pass; ... P.S.: Note that Reid also pours cold water on hopes of fast Senate action on health care ("[T ] hat's going to take a lot more time to do.") .... So voters don't get health care (which Obama made a central issue in the campaign) but do get illegal immigrant semi-amnesty (which was a selling point only on Spanish language radio)? .... 12:27 P.M.

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