Obama Defends Driver's Licenses for Illegals in Interview with ABC News

ABC News reports:

ABC News' Teddy Davis Reports: Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., told ABC's David Muir Saturday that his support for driver's licenses for illegal immigrants will not block his path to the White House because he and G.O.P. frontrunner John McCain share substantial overlap on immigration.

"I think they will pounce on any issue that has to do with immigration," said Obama, referring to Republicans, "but my position has been very similar to John McCain's, who's may be the likely Republican nominee, and if he wants to try to parse out this one issue of driver's licenses, an issue of public safety, my response is that we have to solve the overall problem and this driver's license issue is a distraction."

McCain does not support driver's licenses for illegal immigrants but he shares Obama's support for giving illegal immigrants a path to citizenship without requiring them to leave the United States.

Obama defended his stance on driver's licenses for illegal immigrants on the same day that La Opinion, the nation's largest Spanish language newspaper, cited his support for licenses -- and Sen. Hillary Clinton's, D-N.Y., opposition -- in its endorsement of Obama.

"We were disappointed with her calculated opposition to driver's licenses for the undocumented, which contrasts markedly from the forceful argument in support made by Obama," wrote La Opinion's editorial board. "We understand that this is an extremely controversial issue but we believe there is only one right position and it is that of the senator from Illinois."

While Obama's position on driver's licenses for illegal immigrants helped him win the endorsement of La Opinion, Republican Party officials believe that it could become a lightening rod in the general election.

"With positions like this, it's easy to understand how Obama is labeled as 'most liberal' Senator," said Republican National Committee spokesman Alex Conant, referring to a study of 2007 votes by National Journal magazine. "It's a position that may appeal to the left-wing, but the vast majority of Americans reject. There's no question it may help in some primaries, but it'll hurt him in the general. To the degree that immigration will be an issue this fall -- and it will be -- so will Obama's unpopular stance on drivers' licenses."

Obama's Cook County Democratic Party even likes dead voters.