Speaking in the Rose Garden with Mexican President Calderón, Obama let the cat out of the bag. Recall that he and the Democrats put immigration on the to-do list with great fanfare, grandstanding to their Hispanic base that yes — yes, they really were serious about immigration reform. But Obama let on that, by gosh, “I don’t have 60 votes in the Senate.”

So this is now the Republicans’ fault, because they would insist on a tough border control bill. And more important, in pointing fingers and lowering expectations, Obama revealed that his promise to pass immigration reform is less than sincere. After all, the president is incapable of persuading anyone who doesn’t already agree with him to pass something he really cares about. (He does care about this, right?) So nothing is going to happen on immigration for the balance of his term.

In this moment, Obama revealed both his lack of political muscle and his lack of sincerity. He revealed himself to be just another slick pol, spouting whatever promises the voters will buy. Voters should take note. After all, if the Democrats get enough Senate seats and flip the House to GOP control, there just might be an immigration bill that would land on his desk. Not the sort he had in mind, of course.