Tony Snow, the Washington Times pundit turned White House spokesman, is already putting out the message that the Baker-Hamilton Iraq Study Group better toe the president's line, or the president won't be listening:

“We're not trying to outsource the president's job as commander-in-chief,’’ Snow said. “The president continues to receive information and opinions from a wide variety of sources…

“I think there's an assumption that this is an outfit that, when they're finished, will present something, the president will duly follow its course,'' Snow said. "Maybe he will, maybe he won't, but he'll do it on the basis of his judgment.’’

Now, the White House isn’t about to tear up the work of the Jim Baker who ran the campaigns of the president’s father and who helped rescue the president from the 2000 election debacle in Florida. But the White House also has made a point of noting that this report will not simply be: 'Memo to Bush, from Baker.' It’s the work of Republicans, and Democrats.

“The Iraq Study Group was created pursuant to an act of Congress, and certainly we'll want to hear what the Democrats and Republicans on the bipartisan panel have to say,’’ Snow said. “But the president also listens to a lot of other voices, and he's going to do what he thinks best pursues the aim that we have always said we want to achieve, which is a democratic Iraq, an ally in the war on terror, that is able to sustain, govern and defend itself.’’

Nothing could say it better: "The president also listens to a lot of other voices." Not that Snow thinks that Jesus speaks to the commander-in-chief through Tim LaHaye, or anything like that.