Obama jumps into immigration debate — will that help or hurt?

In a notable aside, Obama said he doesn’t care if some Republicans support immigration reform solely to improve the GOP’s political prospects. “If I’ve got a bunch of Republicans who just for purely political reasons decide we’ve got to get right with immigration communities and so we’re going to pass immigration reform, I’m not concerned about their motives — although I think the folks who so far have stood up are deeply sincere about what needs to be done — but even if it’s political calculation, I’m game.”

So Obama is jumping into the immigration debate with both feet. What does that mean? Perhaps his involvement will intensify Democratic support for reform and win over the few skeptics in his own party. But at the same time, some opponents of reform will likely be happy to see the president become personally engaged in the issue, on the belief that in the past Obama has actually made his causes less popular by his personal involvement. And at the least, having Barack Obama out front on immigration reform will intensify the opposition of those Republicans who already have doubts about the Gang of Eight proposal. From now on, immigration reform will be a debate with the president playing a major role.