HILLARY

Toward the end of last week’s debate, Hillary Clinton stumbled badly over the issue of drivers’ licenses for illegal aliens. She tried to suggest that it was the best of several bad choices, but ended up sounding like she agreed, then disagreed, then agreed again. The other candidates pounced.

Campaign aside, here’s the argument in favor. Licenses would help law enforcement identify and keep track of illegal aliens; only qualified drivers could get them, making the roads safer; proof of insurance would be required, making everyone safer.

Here’s the argument against. There is no evidence whatever to suggest that the Department of Motor Vehicles is remotely capable of certifying anyone’s identity. Quite the contrary. The sheer volume of license applicants makes it impossible for overworked, underpaid DMV employees to do anything more than stamp forms. Osama bin Ladin could apply for a license as Rube Goldberg and get it.

Anyone who has driven in America knows that the phrases “qualified driver” and “licensed driver” do not necessarily belong in the same sentence. The DMV would give Stevie Wonder a license. My 89-year-old mother recently renewed her license for five years with a written test: no driving test, no medical questions, nothing. My mother is a fairly good driver, but they didn’t know that, and I suspect they didn’t care.

Proof of insurance at the moment a license is issued is not a guarantee of maintenance. The DMV, like most government offices, function on an assumption of honesty. Not to disparage illegal aliens, but we know they broke the law to get here, so ... ya know?

The solution to the immigration problem is not to impose some special set of conditions on illegal aliens, but rather to strictly enforce existing regulations against employers. That seems fairly obvious.

a foot on either side.