In a Politico story asserting that various members of the GOP caucus have "rallied" to the president on Iraq (for the moment at least--and the present "slumber party" seems to have soured some institutional-type Republicans on any cooperation with Reid for a forced withdrawal), Sen. Smith (R-OR), one of the three R cosponsors of the Levin-Reed withdrawal amendment (Hagel and Snowe are the others--and backers of this amendment are doubtful they'll get any more R supporters), makes an interesting assertion:

"I'd ballpark it at a dozen," Sen. Gordon Smith (R-Ore.) said when asked how many Republicans are ready to break with the president over Iraq but have not done so publicly. Smith is one of three Republicans who have signed on as co-sponsors of the Levin-Reed plan, which is scheduled to come up for a vote Wednesday after a rare all-night session of the Senate.

Smith said he didn't "want to name names" but said this was "what I hear in the (Republican) cloakroom."

Rumors, rumors!