If you're a regular reader of this column, you know that I am not one of George W. Bush's biggest fans. It's nothing personal, mind you. I think he's a nice enough fellow, and I believe he means well. But he also has a disturbing propensity to make rash, poorly thought-out decisions that often defy the reality of the situations he deals with.

His staunch supporters seem to admire his single-mindedness and self-assurance. Those aren't necessarily bad qualities for a leader to have, but they can be particularly dangerous when they aren't coupled with intelligence and a touch of pragmatism. When they aren't, you end up with a leader who makes decisions based on his vision of how the world ought to be, and not how it is. That's Bush in a nutshell.

But I haven't come here today to bury Bush, but to praise him. Finally, after six long years of head scratching foreign policy and irresponsible fiscal management I am ready to say, "I think he got this one right."

The topic of illegal immigration is all the rage in Washington right now, and Republicans in the House are in a law-and-order kind of mood. In December, they passed a bill that would fence off an additional 700 miles along the U.S.-Mexican border and make crossing the border illegally a felony.

It's a get-tough way of thinking that plays well with some conservatives, but it also ignores some important facts. Such as:

n There are estimated to be at least 11 million undocumented (or illegal, if you prefer) aliens living in this country. It is unrealistic to think we could find them all, much less send them all back to their home country.

n Many of those undocumented foreigners are doing work Americans don't want to do. They would be impossible to fill without these migrant workers.

n These unwanted, low-paying (by American standard) jobs represent a significant improvement over the opportunities these workers are presented with in their home countries.

They aren't going away and they aren't going to stop coming. Do these House Republicans really believe that replacing our unenforceable immigration laws with tougher unenforceable laws is a viable solution? Aren't these the same folks who scoff at beefed-up gun control legislation using the same logic? Surely there must be a better way to deal with the situation.

There is. And the long, tall Texan who sits in the Oval Office is fully behind it. He has given his blessing to a Senate committee proposal that revises the House bill to allow a guest worker program that would allow aliens living and working in the country to stay, and, eventually, get their green cards. Further down the road, if they jump through some hoops and cough up some cash, they can even become citizens.

Some Republicans aren't having any of it. We'd be rewarding lawbreakers and encouraging still more illegals to sneak over the border. But if we can't enforce the laws on the books, making them tougher would only be a feel-good but futile exercise.

There is no way, none at all, that we are going to be able to deport 11 million people and completely shut down our border with Mexico. To call that a solution is to defy the reality of the situation. We need to be smarter than that.

For once Bush gets it. Let's hope it's the start of a trend. Maybe we can get a couple of good years out of the guy yet.

Bill Ferguson is a columnist for the Macon (Ga.) Telegraph.