I guess I always knew in the back of my mind it would happen. Right-leaning sites love to call those on the left the cut and run crowd.

Now the right has its own cut and run people. Oh, they describe themselves as moderates, but no one will pay attention to that. All they see and will see is a group of Republicans met with the president on Tuesday and told him they can’t support him much longer because the polls don’t look good. And, by golly, getting re-elected is priority number one in Washington.

House Republican moderates, in a remarkably blunt White House meeting, warned President Bush this week that his pursuit of the war in Iraq is risking the future of the Republican Party and that he cannot count on GOP support for many more months.

…
But the meeting between 11 House Republicans, Bush, Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates, White House political adviser Karl Rove and presidential press secretary Tony Snow was perhaps the clearest sign yet that patience in the party is running out.
…
“It was a very remarkable, candid conversation,” Davis said. “People are always saying President Bush is in a bubble. Well, this was our chance, and we took it.”

Even with pressure mounting, Congress and the White House are making little progress as they try to find a bipartisan option to fund the war through the summer. Senate leaders met with White House officials yesterday and produced no agreement, as Gates warned lawmakers that the debate is beginning to delay Pentagon operations.

The one area of agreement seemed to be that U.S. officials want the Iraqi government to better contain violence there. Vice President Cheney made an unannounced trip to Baghdad yesterday to meet with Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki and other officials. He urged them to help end fighting between rival Sunni and Shiite factions, to make progress on revising their constitution, and to better manage their oil revenue.

Cheney also expressed concern about the Iraqi parliament considering a two-month summer vacation.

Mr. President, I’m no bigwig or even a littlewig in politics, but I have some advice to you: Stay true to yourself as long as you can and force Congress to defund the war so when the crying and bellyaching start you can say with a clear conscience you tried to complete the job, but the Congress tied your hands.

It will make the anti-war crowd orgasmic and I’m beginning to think those in your own party will feel the same way.

In any event you will be doing the “will of the people” and we all know in a republic the president is to do the “will of the people” even if that will is contrary to the security of the United States of America.

Besides, September will be here before you know it and you have work to do conjuring up a few bad hurricanes. You can’t fight with “the will of the people.”

Of course, they’ll blame you, but what the heck; they’ve been blaming you for everything that has ever gone wrong in this country since its inception.

Pucker up and play kissy-face with all those who would stab you in the back, including your own party. History will treat you a lot better than they have—if we have anymore history.

Captain Ed is also blogging on this story. Go read.