The Repansycans grow a (temporary) spine.

AFP: White House stifles victory cry over blocked Iraq resolution
A spokeswoman for the Bush administration conceded Tuesday that it had actively helped to block, at least for now, vote on a resolution which would express Senate opposition to Bush's decision to send 21,500 additional US troops to Iraq.

"It is accurate that we are engaged. This is the president's policy, and so, of course, we are engaged," said Dana Perino, without using the "pressure" word to describe White House actions to prevent Republican lawmakers from siding with the new Democratic majority in Congress on the disputed strategy.

Perino said the White House had contacted about 200 lawmakers to explain Bush's plan and the decision-making behind it.

She spoke of "a quite robust operation" led by Bush's legislative affairs assistant, Candi Wolff, to deliver a twofold message: an explanation of the president's decision-making and "why we think that sending mixed signals to the troops and our enemy is not in our nation's interest."

The White House campaign, political calculations and jockeying ahead of the 2008 presidential and political elections overrode the unpopularity of the Iraq war Monday when Republican senators blocked debate on the resolution opposing the new Iraq plan.

A dozen Republicans had seemed likely to approve the non-binding, bipartisan measure, co-authored with the Democrats by an eminent member of Bush's party.

But Mitch McConnell, the Republican minority leader in the 100-seat Senate, derailed the resolution using procedural maneuvers and playing on internal divisions among Democrats.

Lawmakers voted 49-47 to proceed with the debate, failing to meet the required 60-vote majority.

The White House spokeswoman refused to say the resolution was dead and affirmed Bush's support for McConnell and other Republicans "in their efforts."

A senior Bush administration official said they had not broken out the champagne after the vote late Monday and advised a wait-and-see caution.

For in fact the debate was not going away. The head of the Democratic majority in the Senate, Harry Reid, challenged Republicans: "You can run but you can't hide ... We are going to debate Iraq."

Heehee. What a leader he is.