BYRON YORK: With public focused on jobs, Washington fights other fights.

A new survey on the effects of the economic downturn shows many more Americans than previously reported have been profoundly touched by joblessness and its related hardships.

In addition, the survey, by scholars at Rutgers University, shows more Americans than previously thought blame illegal immigration for the problem of unemployment — more than blame Wall Street bankers, or George W. Bush, or Barack Obama.

So what is Washington doing amid these deep economic anxieties? Working on a bipartisan plan that would begin with the mass, immediate legalization of illegal immigrants, before any border security or enforcement measures.

That those two facts exist simultaneously — deep fears about the economy and a political fixation on immigration reform — is just one illustration of a disconnect between national political leaders and the people who elected them.

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