Washington ? Senate Democrats’ failure Wednesday to pass a measure ordering the withdrawal of troops from Iraq will give President Bush at least two more months to see if his troop “surge” strategy will begin to work.

Congress is likely to revisit the Iraq war question in September after Gen. David Petraeus issues his assessment of the war and the stability of the Iraqi government. Many Republicans, frustrated at the war’s mismanagement, have said they would wait until then before deciding whether to part ways with the president and his policy.

Senators from both parties appeared angry and frustrated after their all-night session culminated at 11 a.m. in a 52-47 vote, well short of the 60 needed to end debate on an amendment to start bringing troops home in the next 120 days. Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., reacted by furiously yanking the underlying defense bill off the floor, prompting Republican cries that the Democrats were letting down the troops.

Tempers were high in the normally collegial Senate chamber as Democrats blasted their GOP colleagues for blocking the pullout amendment rather than letting it come to a vote. Grumpy, sleep-deprived Republicans, in turn, complained that the all-night session was nothing more than a stunt, replete with cots outside the chamber and cold pizza in the cloakroom, that was designed to grab headlines.

Underlying the tensions were difficult political realities for both parties. Democrats are facing increasing pressure from their party’s anti-war wing to force an end to the conflict. And Republicans are caught between a war backed by the president and the public’s increasing dissatisfaction with the course of events in Iraq.

Among the more emotional speakers was Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz., whose presidential aspirations have suffered in part because of his unstinting support for sticking with the war, rather than what he considers retreating in defeat.

“No soldier will have survived or been wounded, died or come home because we spent an entire night delivering our poll-tested message points, spinning our sound bites, arguing with each other and substituting amateur theatrics for statesmanship,” McCain lamented.

Democrats, however, promised to push forward with their strategy of forcing Republicans to face difficult votes on the unpopular war until enough GOP senators side with them to force President Bush’s hand. Only four Republicans voted Wednesday morning to cut off debate and proceed to a vote on whether to start the withdrawal – Sens. Olympia Snowe and Susan Collins of Maine, Chuck Hagel of Nebraska and Gordon Smith of Oregon.

“Iraq’s not going to go away, and we’re not going away,” declared Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., a decorated Vietnam veteran and former assistant secretary of defense.

Republicans angrily complained that the failure to complete the defense authorization measure would stop members of the armed services from receiving a 3.5 percent pay increase, would delay the modernization of military equipment and would halt efforts to improve care for wounded veterans.

Democrats, on the other hand, said none of those initiatives would take effect until October 2008, leaving plenty of time to consider the legislation later.

The morning of recriminations followed a rare night-long session of the Senate initiated by Democrats to vividly demonstrate that they are doing everything possible to bring the war to an end.

They said they had no regrets about choosing such a drastic tactic.

“Now the Senate’s on record,” said Sen. Dick Durbin, D-Ill., the assistant majority leader. “Many senators who’ve gone home and said they’re opposed to the war voted to continue the war today. They’ll have to answer to the voters.”

Sen. Charles Schumer, D-N.Y., said he believes the round-the-clock debate showed voters just who was trying to bring the war to an end and who wasn’t.

“The lady at the checkout counter in the Longworth (House Office Building) cafeteria and then my mother both said, unsolicited, ‘So, you’re staying up all night,'” Schumer said. “The public was paying attention to this the way they haven’t paid attention to a debate before.”

With the war in its fifth year, and with 158,000 troops serving in Iraq, Republicans said they were perplexed that Democrats would want to embolden the enemy by setting a date certain for withdrawal. And they accused Democrats of politicizing the war for partisan advantage in the 2008 elections.

“What I hate the most is that because of the next election we can’t set aside our differences and focus on what we have in common: providing our troops with what they need,” said Sen. Lindsey Graham, R-S.C.

The Democratic proposal that failed Wednesday would have required Bush to begin withdrawing combat troops within 120 days and to complete the pullout by April 30. The measure, sponsored by Sens. Carl Levin, D-Mich., and Jack Reed, D-R.I., would have allowed some troops to remain behind in order to fight terrorism, train Iraqi soldiers and protect American assets.

Collins, who voted to end the filibuster and consider the defense bill even though she opposed the Levin-Reed amendment, complained that the tenor of the disagreement has gotten out of control.

“The debate on Iraq has been marred by harsh rhetoric and partisan gridlock,” she said. “We need to forge a bipartisan strategy that redefines the mission of our troops and sets the stage for a significant but responsible withdrawal of American combat troops over the next year.”

Reid said Democrats would continue to press their position. “We have a lot of other arrows in our quiver,” he said.