Surprise! The Republican Partei's deathbed conversion on Iraq is only one Friedman Unit away!

We know that Russert never calls anybody, and everything is off the record unless the source tells him otherwise, so somebody called Russert and told him he could "report" what's in this video**. Here's a rough transcript:

Bush gets stern message

This time, I'm sure he'll listen!

RUSSERT: All eyes are on the Republican Party...

Some things never change.

... How long will it support Bush's position on the Iraq War? Yesterday may have been a pivotal moment. At 2:30 in the afternoon yesterday, 11 Republican Congressman met in private quarters in the White House, the Solarium Room, with Bush, Gates, Pony Blow, Condi, Rove and others.

So, I wonder how the 11 arranged who would talk to Timmeh?

Delegation led by delegation Mark Kirk (IL) and Charlie Dent (PA). One participant: "most unvarnished" conversation they'd ever had with the Bush; they'd "never been so candid."

Jeebus. Seven years into Bush's reign, tens of thousands of deaths and a trillion dollars later, and now we're getting candid? Said one Congressman:

"My district is prepared for defeat. We need candor and honesty."

And gosh, where are we going to get that from? They said:

"The word about the war cannot come from the White House or even [sic] you. There is no longer any credibility. The word has to come from General Petraeus.

Authoritarians to the end--they're still looking for a man on a white horse. Bush reacts:

BUSH "I don't want to pass this off to another President. I don't want to pass this off particularly to a Democratic President.

Heh, I bet not. Because a Democratic President would find out where the bodies are buried. Say, I wonder if Bush really said "Democratic"?

Asked one:

"How can our sons and daughters spill their blood while the Iraqi government goes on vacation?"

Bush answers:

"BUSH The Vice President is over there to tell them 'Do not go on vacation.'"

Funny, I thought Shooter was over there to tell them that after four years it was "game time". Better late than never, I guess. Hey, and it looks like Iraq's not a sovreign nation now, either. Good to know.

According to Russert, the meeting was "remarkable for bluntness and wholehearted honesty."

Well.... Look, I hate to skeptical, and I'm particularly pleased to have Tweety reassure me that Yes, Virginia, some Republicans are capable of "wholehearted honesty," but color me skeptical.

Here's how the Times reports the same meeting (yes, these guys leaked to the Times, too). They're a little less breathless than Tweety:

G.O.P. Moderates Warn Bush Iraq Must Show Gains

Oh shit, it's the Moderate Republicans. They always melt like warm turds in the rain on any issue, and they will on Iraq too. And unlike Tweety, the Times actually reports on the substance of the wholeheartedly honest meeting:

Moderate Republicans gave President Bush a blunt warning on his Iraq policy at a private White House meeting this week, telling the president that conditions needed to improve markedly by fall or more Republicans would desert him on the war.

So, the moderate Republicans are only prepared to let one more Friedman Unit go by before... They get really mad and do... something:

The White House session demonstrated the grave unease many Republicans are feeling about the war...

Oh my fucking Gawd! Look! They're demonstrating grave unease in private meetings with the President! Man, I bet Unka Karl's going to spend many a sleepless night over this.

... even as they continue to stand with the president against Democratic efforts to force a withdrawal of forces through a spending measure that has been a flash point for weeks.

Fine words butter no parsnips, eh?

The bottom line: The moderate Republicans want Bush to get Petraeus to give them cover:

“I think people want to hear what the general says,” said Representative Gerlach, of Pennsylvania. “We will all go from there.”

What a fucking farce. A total accountability-evading kabuki dance.

How could a journalist of Russert's integrity fall for it?

There's no story here. Except "all eyez on the Republicans," of course.

UPDATE WaPo also has the story. Pony Blow's take:

"This is not one of those great cresting moments when party discontents are coming in to read the president the riot act," he said. But Blow acknowledged that the meeting included some blunt, if respectful, discussion.

Right, right. See where Civility gets you? The moderates agree:

“I walked away from it feeling I got a chance to make my points,” Mr. Davis said.

And there you have it.

** Go to this link and scroll for "Russert Analysis." The URL there to the Russert video looks like this:

javascript:msnvDwd('00', 'fb83c663-9e00-45b7-9d0e-536f80c28764', 'us','hotvideo_m_edpicks', ' ', 'msnbc', '', '18587662', 'Russert analysis')

Note lack of http protocol. It would be unfortunate if MSNBC has started to discourage deep linking to their videos...