The White House last night quietly backed down in a losing public relations battle with veterans over plans to force some health care costs to private insurers for wounded servicemembers.

In a written statement, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs advertised the administration's support for an increased Veterans budget, but then acknowledged they were tacking away from a vets firestorm.

"In considering the third party billing issue, the administration was seeking to maximize the resources available for veterans," said Gibbs, "however, the President listened to concerns raised by the (Veterans Service Organizations) that this might, under certain circumstances, affect veterans and their families' ability to access health care."

In other words, the vets won this fight.

"Therefore, the President has instructed that its consideration be dropped," Gibbs said.

As I wrote in a blog earlier this week, this was a lesson in politics for the White House, and how easily something can get out of their control in terms of a budget plan.

The decision didn't get much play, as the AIG story was blowing away headlines, along with the President's trip to California.

But it is a skirmish that better not be repeated by the White House and Executive Branch, or else they are going to be putting out a lot of PR fires in the months ahead.