"I Was Born in Colombia, But I Was Made in the USA"

I was bursting with pride when I read this account of Colombian-born Tito Munoz giving the liberal media a piece of his mind at a McCain rally in Virginia. Anyone who loves America can relate to Tito, but his story particularly resonates with me. Byron York of the National Review has the scoop:

Someone asked why Munoz had come to the rally. “I support McCain, but I’ve come to face you guys because I’m disgusted with you guys,” he said. “Why the hell are you going after Joe the Plumber? Joe the Plumber has an idea. He has a future. He wants to be something else. Why is that wrong? Everything is possible in America. I made it. Joe the Plumber could make it even better than me. . . . I was born in Colombia, but I was made in the U.S.A.”

Exactly right. Everything is possible in America and that's why so many of us immigrated here in the first place, from Colombia or elsewhere. What I suspect is driving Munoz is the fear that, under an Obama adminstration, no longer will America be the land of limitless opportunity, but will instead become a stagnant socialist economy supposedly built on "fairness" -- just like, say, France. Indeed, Obama's "fundamental change" mantra seems to call into question the very idea that America is fundamentally good and fair, for if it were, why would "fundamental change" be necessary?

Meanwhile, the great debate was continuing, with Tito the Construction Worker and David the Journalist trading points. Much of it wasn’t terribly informative, but there was one lovely moment when a shouting match turned into a lesson on the fundamental meaning of American constitutional rights — and the immigrant was the teacher.

“Let me talk,” Munoz said to Corn. “I know the Constitution, and I know my First Amendment — ”

“I’m not the state,” Corn said. “I can’t take that right away from you.”

“No, no,” Munoz shot back. “Even the state, the state cannot take that right away.”

“Right, right,” Corn quickly agreed.

“Nobody can take that away,” Munoz said.

Gotta love it! The Washington bureau chief for Mother Jones gets schooled by little ol' Tito Munoz! That, folks, is America.