Last night at Hillsdale College's annual Churchill Dinner in Washington, White House Deputy Chief of Staff Karl Rove received a chilly reception for his answer to a question about illegal immigration.

During the question-and-answer portion, a member of the audience told Rove he frequently hears from Republicans who want to know what is being done about the open-borders problem. Rove gave an eight-minute response emphasizing President Bush's call for a "comprehensive" solution to the illegal immigration problem.

While Rove recited some strong statistics emphasizing increased enforcement on the border, his overall answer suggested the U.S. had no way of keeping illegals out, and therefore, should instead invite them in as part of a guest-worker program. The response from the audience: dead silence. See for yourself.