Patterico reprints the text of "The Deal" interspersed with explanations:

MEMORANDUM OF UNDERSTANDING ON JUDICIAL NOMINATIONS

Doesn't that mean it's unenforceable?

We respect the diligent, conscientious efforts, to date, rendered to the Senate by Majority Leader Frist and Democratic Leader Reid. This memorandum confirms an understanding among the signatories, based upon mutual trust and confidence, related to pending and future judicial nominations in the 109th Congress.

We've got COMITY, Baby! Gotta have comity!

This memorandum is in two parts. Part I relates to the currently pending judicial nominees; Part II relates to subsequent individual nominations to be made by the President and to be acted upon by the Senate’s Judiciary Committee.

We're not only going to sell out the presidents current nominees, but his future nominees, too.

A. Votes for Certain Nominees. We will vote to invoke cloture on the following judicial nominees: Janice Rogers Brown (D.C. Circuit), William Pryor (11th Circuit), and Priscilla Owen (5th Circuit).

Myers and Saad will be left to twist in the wind.

B. Status of Other Nominees.

see above

Part II: Commitments for Future Nominations

A. Future Nominations. Signatories will exercise their responsibilities under the Advice and Consent Clause of the United States Constitution in good faith.

Business as usual. My party is acting in good faith. Yours is a bunch of demagogues. Therefore, we won't try to define "good faith." We'll wait until the President nominates someone to the Supreme Court and then we'll go through this circus again.

Nominees should only be filibustered under extraordinary circumstances, and each signatory must use his or her own discretion and judgment in determining whether such circumstances exist.

Business as usual. Comity RULES!

B. Rules Changes. In light of the spirit and continuing commitments made in this agreement, we commit to oppose the rules changes in the 109th Congress, which we understand to be any amendment to or interpretation of the Rules of the Senate that would force a vote on a judicial nomination by means other than unanimous consent or Rule XXII.

Enough Republicans have wimped out that we won't be able to follow the Constitution and give our advice and consent.

We believe that, under Article II, Section 2, of the United States Constitution, the word “Advice” speaks to consultation between the Senate and the President with regard to the use of the President’s power to make nominations. We encourage the Executive branch of government to consult with members of the Senate, both Democratic and Republican, prior to submitting a judicial nomination to the Senate for consideration.

The President should take this heat, not US! We've wimped out.

Such a return to the early practices of our government may well serve to reduce the rancor that unfortunately accompanies the advice and consent process in the Senate.

Why won't the president cover our rear ends for us? We're senators, not leaders. We shouldn't have to be embarrassed by wimping out at the last second. We're pretty sure that the Democrats will soon be back in the majority, and we don't want them to hurt us when they are. We have to give them what they want or we won't have comity.

We firmly believe this agreement is consistent with the traditions of the United States Senate that we as Senators seek to uphold.

We're not really wimps. Quit calling us wimps!

It's true that this could still work out well for conservatives, if the president is willing to withdraw Myers and Saad. But why should he? This is a game of chicken and the Republicans lost their nerve, or just didn't have it to begin with. Now they'll have a lot of people in their national base mad, but they're counting on being able to hold their seats in "moderate" states. So long, Senator McCain. The best they can do now is to go back to overruling the filibuster when the Democrats decide that they just have to block the next nominee from getting a vote. They've wimped out, and what have they gotten for it? Oh, yeah--comity. Right.