Mitch McConnell in the minority

The headline is that Senate Monority leader Mitch McConnell is now saying that he expects a Democratic "withdrawal version" of the Iraq funding bill to pass the Senate forwarding such a bill to the president's desk.

That's big news, but take a look at McConnell's language.

House and Senate negotiations, managed by Democrats, likely would result in a compromise bill with a "surrender date," McConnell said. Urging Democrats to promptly finish this first legislative round, McConnell said, "We need to have time to repass the bill without the offending language" after a veto.

So, is that nastiness or desperation from being on the wrong political side of the issue?

Read the WaPo's characterization of the Republican position,

Unwilling to do the White House's heavy lifting on Iraq, Senate Republicans are prepared to step aside to allow language requiring troop withdrawals to reach President Bush, forcing him to face down Democratic adversaries with his veto pen.

So, has the withdrawal position reached critical mass in the Congress with Sununu, Collins, and other "at risk" Republicans unwilling to support an endless war?

Or, has the whole thing become personal?

"We have toed the line enough for the president, and we have gotten no thanks or gratitude. By and large, Republicans are sick of defending an ungrateful president," the Republican House member said.

The White House is sinking.