It’s no secret that life in Bangladesh is tough. Desperate poverty, one of the highest population densities on the world, and the possibility that the country may disappear under rising ocean waters all contribute to living conditions that are less than enviable from an outsider’s perspective. And it would seem that the Bangladeshis agree. This year, 7.67 million people from Bangladesh applied to the U.S. green card lottery, an immigration program that awards 50,000 green cards a year to foreign nationals selected simply by luck of the draw. That’s almost 5% of the country’s population, including children and the elderly.

Bangladesh was not the only country filled with would-be immigrants seeking a way to the United States. 2010 was a banner year for the green card lottery, with a record 15 million entries from around the world. Bangladesh took the lead for most applicants, followed by Nigeria with 1.47 million, Ukraine with 760,000, Ethiopia with 580,000, and Egypt with 340,000.

In short, the numbers once again represent what we sometimes forget: despite the varying perceptions of the U.S. abroad, the American Dream retains its allure- even in parts of the Middle East, a region many Americans automatically assume is uniformly inimical to the U.S.  While pundits may fret about declining American soft power around the world, the promise of a better life is one aspect of the U.S.’s reputation that is unlikely to disappear anytime soon.

Bipartisanship is tough in an election year.  Each candidate up for election is seeking ways to differentiate him/herself from the opposition.  Particularly in primary battles, compromise is often punished.  A few examples come to mind recently of election years politics getting in the way of bipartisan compromises.  Candidates from both parties have let the politics of the moment derail sensible policy.

Senator Harry Reid (D-NV) is one Democrat who comes to mind.  After financial regulatory reform, there are two important major legislative priorities that have a chance to getting bipartisan support in this Congress – immigration reform and climate change/energy security.  The one Republican who has been willing to stick his neck out on both of these initiatives is Lindsey Graham (R-SC).  Graham has worked with Senator Schumer (D-NY) on immigration reform and Senator Kerry (D-MA) on climate change.  They had both come up with sensible compromises that had a chance of getting bipartisan support.  It wasn’t going to be easy in an election year on either of these issues, but it was a start.  The challenge for the Democrats was to maintain Graham’s support on both issues and hope to pick up some more Republicans who were willing to put aside partisan differences.  Then came Harry Reid. (more…)