State Sen. Jeff Smith went to the capital two years ago known mostly as the plucky political newcomer whose narrow congressional defeat filled a cheer-for-the-underdog documentary.

But the St. Louis Democrat is also a professor, and since arriving in office has brought a scholarly introspection to the Jeff City grist. In his regular dispatches to supporters, Smith has mournfully lamented Senate cloture procedures, and sought solace in the topsy-turvy debate on campaign finance.

Smith’s latest missive finds him jogging through the district and thinking about the recent fight over an immigration bill:

I talked to a Bosnian coffee-store owner, played touch football with a group of Somalian boys, and laughed with a group of girls from Mexico, Vietnam, and Thailand, who danced animatedly in the street as they sang from the Marvalettes #1 hit from 1961, “Please Mr. Postman.”

“Oh yes, wait a minute Mister Postman…”

I thought about the American ethos of trying to leave things a little better for the next generation. I thought of the doctors, engineers, and professors who had escaped dire situations in other countries to seek a better life in America, many of whom work as janitors, housekeepers, or groundskeepers here so that their children can take advantage of the world’s best universities. And then I thought about the main argument of the people seeking to “crack down” on illegal immigration-that immigrants were taking what was rightfully “ours”.

Only belatedly did I realize that in these girls and their joyful emulation of the Marvelettes was the best answer to that: even amidst a dreadful war and pervasive economic anxiety, we are the greatest nation in the world. … I found myself wondering what might become of the girls in the street. Would they make it to college? Would they stay in America? Would they grow up to be professional musicians?

Or even politicians prone to tangents?

Oh, Mr. Postman…