Immigration Politics

The LA Times has a swell story on the political maneuvering on immigration:

President Bush accused Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid on Thursday of "single-handedly thwarting" action on immigration legislation, and got a brisk retort in return.

"President Bush has as much credibility on immigration as he does on Iraq and national security," shot back the Nevada Democrat.

Thinking back to 2003-04, Its amazing to think that Iraq and security would be viewed as a weakness for Bush.

Bush and Reid swapped charges as Republicans disclosed a Spanish-language radio advertising campaign designed to shoulder Democrats with the responsibility for legislation passed by the GOP-controlled House that would make illegal immigrants subject to felony charges.

Given the majoritarian nature of the House, how could this be?
Alternatively, does reality matter in a world of "Symbolic Politics" -- with a disinterested and uninformed public, only about half of Americans report knowing which party controls the congress in the first instance.