Here's a really interesting postscript to the House Dems' successful passage of the Iraq withdrawal today:

This morning, when Dems met behind closed doors to get ready for the vote, members gave a standing ovation to the three key liberals who helped make this bill possible: Barbara Lee, Lynn Woolsey and Maxine Waters.

The kicker: All three were preparing to vote against the bill, and everyone there suspected as much -- but the three were applauded anyway.

The scene -- which was recounted in Congress Daily (sub only) and confirmed to me by a Hill source -- was a reminder of the strange route House Dems took to passage of this milestone bill. As reported here yesterday, the three key liberal members decided at the last minute to back the bill. But because they wanted to oppose the bill themselves as a matter of conscience because it lacked the tough language enforcing withdrawal that they wanted, they went to other liberal members of the Out of Iraq caucus and let them know that they'd have no problem if they voted for it.

"These three went and got enough other votes to provide a margin of victory beyond their own three No votes," the source says. Thus the standing ovation for them.

Moral of the story: Though turning this bill into law still remains an uphill battle at best, today's events reveal that progressive Dems in Congress managed to hew to their principles and play the politics of the system shrewdly -- a balancing act that's long proven elusive for some on the left. "These Members of Congress played hardball from the beginning," David Sirota writes referring to the liberal House Dems. "And because of their efforts, progressive Democrats have not only brought the war closer to an end."

Meanwhile, the sense of relief is palpable among House Dem staffers today now that Speaker Nancy Pelosi has pulled off a victory in her first major test of leadership. "I'm taking your call, but you should know you're standing between me and a well-deserved drink," the Hill source told me. "We averted at least three permutations of potential disaster today."