The Hill Caves Once Again on War

This isn't going to make the Dem base happy. Nancy Pelosi fails again even though Bush did give her a pat on the head and a little something to say she negotiated well:

House Democratic leaders could complete work as soon as Monday on a half-trillion-dollar spending package that will include billions of dollars for the war effort in Iraq without the timelines for the withdrawal of combat forces that President Bush has refused to accept, House Majority Leader Steny H. Hoyer (D-Md.) said yesterday.

In a complicated deal over the war funds, Democrats will include about $11 billion more in domestic spending than Bush has requested, emergency drought relief for the Southeast and legislation to address the subprime mortgage crisis, Hoyer told a meeting of the Washington Post editorial board.

First off, Bush was addressing the subprime mess anyway so that's not exactly a win for the Dems. Drought relief would have been granted anyway as well so Bush allowed them to take credit. The extra $11-billion for "domestic spending" isn't a major giveaway either as Bush has not been shy about spending excess funds throughout his two terms.

Yet still, the Post has to make it seem better than it really is by propping up Pelosi's party:

If the bargain were to become law, it would be the third time since Democrats took control of Congress that they would have failed to force Bush to change course in Iraq and continued to fund a war that they have repeatedly vowed to end. But it would also be the clearest instance yet of the president bowing to a Democratic demand for more money for domestic priorities, an increase that he had promised to reject.

Bush is not "bowing" to anything. The GOP was against the extra money because it was a bargaining chip and they played it well. This is another clear loss for the Democrats and another clear win for the Bush administration. It's also a win for our troops and that's exactly why the donks were forced to cave...again.