This is no reason for anything more than temporary euphoria -- somehow deals always seem to get made in the end -- but we'll take it.

The House has surprisingly defeated the Iraq appropriations bill, thanks to a large bloc of Republicans, upset with Speaker Nancy Pelosi, who voted "present" to show their displeasure.

The result was that the $162.5-billion appropriation failed 141-149.

The WashPost reports:

As approved, the House bill would require the United States to begin withdrawing troops from Iraq within 30 days, with a goal of removing all combat forces by December 2009. The Iraqi government would have to match U.S. reconstruction funding, dollar for dollar, and would be required to offer the U.S. military the same fuel subsidies it provides its own citizens.

Troops would get more rest between combat deployments, and every branch of government -- including the Central Intelligence Agency -- would have to abide by the Army Field Manual's guidelines on interrogation, which ban actions that amount to torture. Those policy prescriptions passed the House 227 to 196, with a surprising eight Republican votes. [Wisconsin's vote was party line]

We know the big winners and losers in Wisconsin’s primary. Obamarama trounced Billary as badly as McGruff beat Huckleberry. And Huck’s supposedly a dead duck.

So Hillary, who revealed for the first time a few days before the primary that she was a duck hunter, couldn’t do any better than a dead duck Republican.

Other Badger State notes:

Worst Wisconsin polliing award.

No polling firm covered itself with glory, with most polls giving Obama only a slight edge and no one forecasting anything like the blowout that occurred.

However, the American Research Group was in a class by itself.

Even while every other poll had Obama slightly ahead, ARG had Clinton ahead, first by 9 per cent and later by 6 per cent two days before the primary. Then, in what must have been the biggest overnight change in political history, it went from Clinton up 6 to Obama up 10 – a 16 point swing in two nights.

It makes you wonder whether they do any voter interviews or simply write down some guesses. (Or decided at the last minute to cover their butt.)

No one’s always right, but this firm, based in Manchester, NH, isn’t just a little off. When it’s bad it is horrid. And it’s been especially bad in its home state.