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This is what passes for victory in Washington these days.

Ever since the negotiating nations announced an agreement on a deal that would lift sanctions on Iran in exchange for restrictions on their nuclear program, including inspections to verify compliance, the American public has reacted with increasing pessimism. Before the announcement of the deal, the electorate favored its pursuit by a wide margin--in principle. With this specific deal, though, voters overwhelmingly want Congress to reject it. A Quinnipiac poll this week shows only 25 percent in favor of the deal, and a majority of 55 percent opposing it. There are literally no demographics with a majority in favor of the deal, not even Democrats, where support only comes to a plurality, 46/25.

Normally, a policy with this kind of negative consensus would be rejected by Congress. That should be especially true of treaties, which require two-thirds of the Senate to ratify. However, thanks to machinations by both the Obama administration and Congress, it now takes a two-thirds vote in both chambers to reject the deal.

Earlier this year, as the prospects for an agreement with Iran appeared to brighten, the White House made it clear that it would not submit the deal to Congress as a treaty. Instead, they would consider it an executive agreement and use whatever authority they had to ensure US compliance with its terms. Most of the sanctions against Iran were passed by Congress as statutes and would require repeal, but they also include an unlimited ability for presidents to waive them for diplomatic purposes. The rest of the terms could be met by executive orders.

Congress tried countering that strategy by threatening to repeal the waivers. This eventually evolved into a bill authored by Senators Bob Corker (R-TN) and Robert Menendez (D-NJ), both opponents of a deal, in which the entire Congress could invalidate the waivers by rejecting the deal. The catch: Obama could veto such a bill, which then requires a two-thirds vote in both chambers to override.

Essentially, the White House has reversed the normal check on treaties and foreign engagements –- and did so with Congressional cooperation. That means that Obama only needed 34 Senators to endorse the deal in order to ensure Congress could not sustain a rejection. On Wednesday, Maryland Democrat Barbara Mikulski made it official by announcing her support.