Via TNR’s Isaac Chotiner, the New York Times quotes from a blog post by conservative talk show host and media critic Michael Medved about his recent visit to the White House along with other prominent conservative pundits.

Describing their off-the-record meeting with President Bush, Medved writes:

Asked about the possibility of immigration reform before the election, [President Bush] expressed passionate concern for establishing better security at the border, but indicated an unwillingness to change his “core principles.” He made the important point that if he abandoned his well-known commitments on this or other domestic issues, the nation’s enemies (and the rest of the world) would take away the belief that the President could be bullied, prodded, overwhelmed and initimidated — harming the war effort for which young Americans risk their lives. He deeply believes in the importance of resolution, determination, and consistency in world affairs– and emphasized several times that he refuses to govern according to trends, polls, or public opinion.

Not content to suggest that liberal criticism of him encourages the enemy, the President of the United States is now telling leading conservatives that he can’t change his mind on any issue or it will embolden the enemy. It’s interesting how the imagined reaction of the “enemy” is always so politically convenient for Bush. And even if he’s right about the reaction, we have a democracy that takes precedence.