It certainly didn't involve Frist.
But I would not be surprised if Reid wasn't pushing for it.
Consider what the Democrats got:
1. The freedom to conduct a filibuster against any and all judicial nominees, save three -- based on a promise by the GOP majority that they would not change the rules to silence said filibuster.
2. Avoidance of any political cost that would have been entailed in filibustering Owens and Brown -- a qualified female and female minority nominee.
And what did the Democrats give up?
1. Their power to filibuster three politically-charged nominees.
2. And the probable liklihood of a defeat on those three nominees, via a successful cloture vote.
In other words, the Democrats gave up what was already lost. And they preserved their "right to obstruct" and even enlisted seven GOP senators in defense of their now impregnable position.
Reid got everything he could hope to achieve. Frist got screwed -- along with the conservative GOP senators, all of us conservative voters and the entire country.
Sure does look that way. But I suppose we won't know for certain until the first Supreme Court vacancy.