The Week

President Clinton has been in California 19 times in the last two years, almost equaling the number of visits to the state by Governor Pete Wilson.

When Bob Dole told the American Legion that “English should be acknowledged once and for all as the official language of the United States,” and that “alternative-language education” should stop, he was attacked by GOP rivals Pat Buchanan, Pete Wilson, and Richard Lugar—on the grounds that they had thought of it first. Slowly and steadily, the GOP establishment is realizing that the American identity is more than a Hefty bag. Immigration has worked historically because it has come in digestible waves, and because immigrants have conformed to a common culture. Senator Dole and his fellow candidates are learning the language of common sense.

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William F. Buckley Jr.

President Clinton has been in California 19 times in the last two years, almost equaling the number of visits to the state by Governor Pete Wilson.

When Bob Dole told the American Legion that “English should be acknowledged once and for all as the official language of the United States,” and that “alternative-language education” should stop, he was attacked by GOP rivals Pat Buchanan, Pete Wilson, and Richard Lugar—on the grounds that they had thought of it first. Slowly and steadily, the GOP establishment is realizing that the American identity is more than a Hefty bag. Immigration has worked historically because it has come in digestible waves, and because immigrants have conformed to a common culture. Senator Dole and his fellow candidates are learning the language of common sense.