Here's what the president did:
1. He and Frist stepped aside and let the Dems back-room an unenforceable deal with McCain and the other 6 Rep dwarfs. A deal not worth the paper it is written on.
2. W and Frist then watched the back-room dealers and the Dems announce to the world, as Sheets Bryd did, the Republic, the Senate and all that is democratic has been saved for future generations to come and that the Senate would now be able to get on with the peoples business. They go further and say the Filibuster lives but will only be invoked under extreme circumstances which remain undefined, but the nuclear option died and cannot be brought up again by this Congress. By the way Mr. President to top it all off we rewrote the Constitution in our little meeting and you Mr. President must now submit future appointees for anything to the 14 morons for our approval prior to being sent to any congressional committee.
3. Frist and W hit the Senate with a Bolten of Lightening by simply scheduling the Bolten appointment for Senate debate less than 48 hours after the Republic is saved by the Senate. The extreme circumstance not previously defined is now defined as 2 pieces of paper protected by Executive Privilege that the dems insist are the linchpin to Bolten approval or non-approval, the same Bolten approved by the Senate 4 previous times for other positions.
4. Basically W and Frist let the Dem Senators run in a gigantic circle for a couple of weeks. We now stand exactly where we were prior to the agreement. When the Senate reconvenes Frist will have no choice but to ask for a vote on changing the Senate rules and this time no 1 will listen to any arguments to not change the rules to a simple majority vote.
It was brilliant. The Dems were allowed to destroy their own arguments for not changing the rules in less than 48 hours by merely letting Dems be Dems.