Yeah...this sounds like a deal that ASSAD wants...don't see anything to indicate that Bush is all that interested.
The correct take, in my opinion.
If there is anything whatsoever to this rumor, it is Assad signaling that he would accept a deal, any deal, to stay in power.
That is not a deal he is going to get from the Bush administration, however. There are simply too many loose ends -- support for Iraq insurgency, Hizbollah and Israeli security, Lebanon and Assad's guilt, not to mention Saddam's WMD.
Given success in Iraq and Lebanon, why would we agree to leave the Assad regime in place?
Correct, which means he is scared. No need to deal with a scared man. Just destroy him or watch him destroy himself. He is definitely not negotiating from a position of strength. Those he is offering to give up won't be too pleased either.
Of course, none of this may be true.