Whose defeat are we really worried about?

Today, the Senate passed a long anticipated war spending bill with the much controversial time table for troop withdrawal. Given that the majority of the people voted for this Congress with the hopes that they would end the war, it makes sense. However, it also makes sense that Bush refuses to back down from his idea that this is a "timetable for defeat" "cut and run" proposal that "fails to support our troops" Why would he and the Republicans stick to this rhetoric? Anything else would admit defeat. No, not defeat against Al Qaeda, but defeat against the majority of the American people who believe that they are no longer capable of handling this war. And that defeat is simply unacceptable.