On the May 9 edition of NBC's Today, guest host David Gregory told Sen. Gordon Smith (R-OR) that Smith, Sen. Chuck Hagel (R-NE), Sen. Susan Collins (R-ME), and Sen. Olympia Snowe (R-ME) were all "[m]oderates on the war" without noting that they split on key votes related to the war, with Collins and Snowe siding with the majority of Republicans on those votes. Gregory noted that Smith was one of "[o]nly two Republican senators [who] voted for a timeline to bring troops home from Iraq" -- a reference to his vote on the Iraq supplemental funding bill, which included a timeline for withdrawal -- but did not note that Hagel was the other Republican senator, as Smith did later in the interview.

On February 17, Smith, Hagel, Collins, and Snowe all voted with the majority of Democrats for cloture on S. 574, a bill expressing Congress' “disapprov[al] of the decision of President George W. Bush announced on January 10, 2007, to deploy more than 20,000 additional United States combat troops to Iraq.” However, Snowe and Collins voted with other Republicans and in opposition to Smith and the majority of Democrats on the following:

• S.J. Res. 9, which stated that "[t]he President shall promptly transition the mission of United States forces in Iraq ... and commence the phased redeployment of United States forces." On March 15, Smith voted in favor of S.J. Res. 9, while Hagel, Collins, and Snowe voted against it.
• H.R. 1591, the Iraq supplemental funding bill, which provided that "[t]he President shall commence the phased redeployment of United States forces from Iraq not later than 120 days after the date of the enactment of this Act, with the goal of redeploying, by March 31, 2008, all United States combat forces from Iraq except a limited number." On March 29, Smith and Hagel voted for H.R. 1591, while Snowe and Collins voted against.
• H.R. 1591 conference report, the supplemental funding bill, which provided that if the government of Iraq met certain benchmarks, “the Secretary of Defense shall commence the redeployment of the Armed Forces from Iraq not later than October 1, 2007, with a goal of completing such redeployment within 180 days.” If Iraq did not meet those benchmarks, the redeployment would begin “no later than July 1, 2007,” instead. On April 26, Smith and Hagel voted for the conference report for H.R. 1591, while Snowe and Collins voted against it.

Collins' and Snowe's votes reflect a position rejected by a majority of the American public, according to polling. A May 4-6 CNN/Opinion Research Corp. poll found that 57 percent of respondents favored a proposal similar to H.R. 1591 that would, in the wording of the poll, “provide additional funds for U.S. troops in Iraq and would require the U.S. to start withdrawing all its troops from Iraq by a specific date.” Forty-one percent of respondents, like Snowe and Collins, would oppose such a proposal. The poll also reported that 61 percent of respondents would favor a proposal that “would provide additional funds for troops in Iraq and set benchmarks that the Iraqi government must meet to show that progress is being made in Iraq, but would not set a date for troop withdrawal,” similar to proposals made by Snowe, while 36 percent of respondents would oppose such a proposal.

On May 8, the Associated Press reported that Snowe and Sen. Evan Bayh (D-IN) co-sponsored a bill that “would require the Iraqi government to meet certain benchmarks within four months. If Baghdad fails, military commanders would begin planning to bring some troops home.” The AP added that the bill “sets a nonbinding goal of ending combat six months” if the benchmarks aren't met. On May 9, NBC News producer Ken Strickland said that Snowe's bill “will require troop redeployment if the Iraqi government has not met specific benchmarks.” Strickland added that under Snowe's bill, "[i]f the Iraqis failed to meet any one of the milestones, [Lt. Gen. David] Petraeus would then have to submit a plan to withdraw most troops, excluding those for force protection, counter insurgency, and support and training of Iraqi forces." Snowe previously submitted an April 18 bill that called for "[p]lans for the phased redeployment of United States forces" if the Iraqi government failed to meet certain benchmarks within 120 days of the passage of that bill. There have been no votes on either of Snowe's bills.

Unlike Snowe's position of linking redeployment to benchmarks, CNN reported on May 8 that Collins said her current position is that “there comes a point in September where if it's evident that the new strategy is not successful and will not succeed we do have to change course and that means looking for all options, including a plan for withdrawing troops.” CNN reported that this was the “the first time” that Collins “has suggested she might call for a troop withdrawal in the coming months.”

From the May 9 edition of NBC's Today:

GREGORY: Only two Republican senators voted for a timeline to bring the troops home from Iraq. One of them was Oregon Senator Gordon Smith. He joins us this morning. Senator, good morning.

SMITH: Good morning, David.

GREGORY: Here's the reality. Moderates on the war like you and Chuck Hagel and Susan Collins and Olympia Snowe and others have not changed the president to change his course. So if September comes and there's not an appreciable change on the ground in Iraq, which other Republicans are going to come along with you, and how will that change policy?

SMITH: Well, David, I only speak for one Republican senator, but I know what I hear from many Republican senators. And that means that many of them will simply change their votes, and Chuck Hagel and I will not be only one calling on a -- calling on the president to put the troops in a new place.