what backlash?

So, you've probably already seen this NYT story about Bush's amazingly low poll numbers, which predictably tells us that people are unhappy about the Iraq mess, the economy, oil prices, and so forth. Even the Republican monopoly on the "better against terrorism" issue is slipping. But what I found particularly heartening was this:

Immigration is another issue undercutting Republicans and Mr. Bush. As Republicans battle over how to respond to illegal immigration, the poll found considerable opposition to the strict measures being pressed by conservative Republicans in the House.

About 60 percent of respondents said they favored the plan proposed by some Republicans in the Senate that would permit illegal immigrants who had worked in the United States for at least two years to keep their jobs and apply for citizenship. Just 35 percent endorsed the view of some conservatives that illegal immigrants should be deported. Two-thirds opposed building a 700-mile fence along the United States-Mexican border.

In other words, the people who said the marches would create a huge xenophobic backlash and become a profitable wedge issue for right-wing Republicans? So Wrong, apparently.