According to the W. Post and MSNBC.com, it appears Speaker Nancy Pelosi has assembled a majority to pass the war supplemental appropriations bill that includes an firm Aug. 31, 2008 deadline for the redeployment of combat troops out of Iraq.

And less noted, but more important, it bans funds "made available by this or any other Act" to "establish any military installation or base for the purpose of providing for the permanent stationing of United States Armed Forces in Iraq."

Everyone understands that this vote won't end the war. Even if it clears the Senate, Dubya will constitutionally veto it or unconstitutionally ignore it.

And it certainly won't end the debate, even though the House will be acting with the clear support of the public, which wants troops home even earlier.

There will be fierce conservative spin, along the lines of this being a cheap political vote and not a thoughtful, national security vote.

While Republicans have squandered their credibility on national security, Democrats still have something to prove. So such spin may have an impact.

In turn, it is critical not just to pass the bill, but to defend it after passage. The debate may end in the House, but it begins anew with the public.

And "Troops Home in '08" is not enough of an argument.

A coordinated messaging effort, particularly on the Sunday shows, explaining the full Democratic foreign policy strategy is absolutely, urgently, deeply, vitally crucial.

(I've abused my thesaurus to do it, but hopefully the point is made.)

Dems must articulate that it's not just about withdrawing troops.

It's how a planned troop redeployment and renouncement of permanent bases will end suspicion of our intentions, revitalize our ability to conduct robust multilateral diplomacy, secure support from Iraq's neighbors, resolve sectarian differences, and allow Iraqis to build a credible democracy for themselves.

That it's far more responsible to engage diplomatically and economically while disengaging militarily, than it is to feed instability with a military escalation.

But over the next few days, if Democrats do not take care to properly explain this vote, and put it into a broader foreign policy frame, the potential power of the vote will be minimized.