WH sent Gates and Rice to Hill to rally the war before the vote:

[rodeodance]

http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/21790348/?displaymode=1006
..Hours before the scheduled vote, the White House dispatched Defense Secretary Robert Gates and Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice to Capitol Hill to brief lawmakers on Iraq.

In one closed-door meeting, Gates urged a group of senators not to support the bill. He said the same lawmakers who criticized Pentagon civilians for previously ignoring the advice of its uniformed generals were asking him to ignore them now, according to an official who attended the meeting. The official requested anonymity because the meeting was private.

Similar legislation has passed repeatedly along party lines in the House only to sink in the Senate, where Democrats hold a razor-thin majority and 60 votes are needed to overcome procedural hurdles.

It is expected that if the measure fails in the Senate, Democrats will not consider Bush's war spending request until next year. Democrats say the military won't need the money until then and the Pentagon can transfer money from less urgent accounts or from spending set aside for the last three months of this year.

[rodeodance]

1. ..the bill explicitly states the money should be used to bring troops home.

The bill's prospects brightened somewhat after three leading anti-war Democrats announced they would support it. California Reps. Lynn Woolsey, Barbara Lee and Maxine Waters said they had agreed to swing behind it because the bill explicitly states the money should be used to bring troops home.

But still uncertain the bill would pass, Pelosi on Wednesday delayed a vote by several hours while she met with supporters and asked them to help her round up votes.

Fifteen Democrats broke ranks and joined 188 Republicans in opposing the measure. Four Republicans joined 214 Democrats in supporting it.

[Imagevision]

2. The Dems need to filibuster to expose those responsible for NOT ending the war...

plaster their repug and Dem names all over the net so the public can see who is responsible for NOT allowing the troops to leave!

[DCKit]

3. Closed doors, "say anything" and "spin, spin, spin".

You gotta love 'em for trying so hard. Putting out the little fires while Rome is burning.

There's no such thing as "recess funding" so * is really going to have to move on this one. Unless he presents some incredibly compelling reason, he's not going to be allowed to play war for much longer.