Is Senator Reid a shrewd Democratic leader, or just really lucky?

Reid outmaneouvers Frist again - from Daily Kos:

So Frist says: "Reacting to a Democratic offer in the fight over filibusters, Republican leader Bill Frist said Tuesday he isn't interested in any deal that fails to ensure Senate confirmation for all of President Bush's judicial nominees." Reid just engaged Frist in a game of chicken, and Frist blinked first. Reid has been extrememly effective in whipping up opposition to the Nuclear Option, garnering strong grass- and netroots support, editorial board support, and popular support (as the latest polls show scant appetitite for ending the filibuster). But in order to avoid looking like obstructionists, Demcorats had to make efforts to "find a compromise", lest the chattering class get the vapors from such Democratic intransigence. Had Frist accepted the offers for compromise, Bush would've gotten the majority of his judges through, and Democrats would've gotten -- who knows what. All published compromise offers didn't seem to give our side anything. So Democrats would've faced a sea of criticism from our own side for snatching defeat out of the hands of victory. Frist and Co. would've finally gotten a procedural victory against Reid (who has run circles around them thus far). And all that good will Reid had built in the netroots over the past four months would've evaporated in one fell swoop. It was one heck of a gamble, but the Senator from Nevada played his cards right. Frist painted himself into a corner, having whipped up the forces of wingnuttery into a froth, he could not back down without damaging his White House aspirations for 2008. He's banking on the crazies to get him the nomination. So Reid got the Democrats to look conciliatory, forcing Frist and his Republicans to look even more inflexible than before. Damn the guy is good. I'm glad he's on our side.

Fine, the Republicans are looking foolish. So when did that stop them anytime during the past 4+ years? I mean, it's like, jesus, those right-wing nut jobs have absolutely no sense of moral character or ethical value, and yet they just keep steamrolling along, detroying everything they touch. I don't see how embarassing them makes a bit of difference in the outcome.