Whether out of blind loyalty or blind denial, most Republicans are prepared to back up President Bush’s veto of the Iraq spending bill. It is now essential that the revised version not back away from demanding that Iraq’s PM, Nuri Kamal al-Maliki, deliver on the crucial national reconciliation measures he has spent the last year dodging. And it must make clear that US support for his failures — and Bush’s — is fast waning. What Maliki needs to do to slow Iraq’s bloodletting is no mystery. Iraq’s security forces must stop siding with the Shiite militias. Iraq’s oil revenue must be apportioned fairly. Anti-Baathist laws now used to deny Sunni Arabs employment and political opportunities must be rewritten to target only those responsible for the crimes of the Saddam Hussein era.

Each time Baghdad fails a test, Bush lowers his requirements and postpones his target dates — the kind of destructive denial Bush called, in another context, the soft bigotry of low expectations. The final version of the spending bill should include explicit benchmarks and timetables for the Iraqis, even if Bush won’t let Congress back them up with a clear timetable

for America’s withdrawal.

If Maliki and Bush still don’t get it, Congress will have to enact new means of enforcement, and back that up with a veto-proof majority.