WASHINGTON (CNN) -- Democratic Caucus Chairman Rahm Emanuel, D-Illinois, and Defense Secretary Robert Gates aren't likely to agree on too much when it comes to the Iraq war.

Yet Emanuel seized on a recent comment by Gates that "the debate in Congress has been helpful in demonstrating to the Iraqis that American patience is limited."

Emanuel couldn't agree more. "Secretary Gates, thank you for your honest assessment of what it takes t o bring a new direction to Iraq," Emanuel said in a statement.

Emanuel isn't the only Democrat publicizing Gates' comments. At a press conference before meeting with the president to discus the Iraq spending bull, House speaker Nancy Pelosi said, "The president has to think hard and long about the words of his own secretary of defense."

Gates, who made the remarks while in Jordan on Tuesday, also made clear he is against the Democrats' push for a withdrawal timetable.

"I've been pretty clear that I think the enactment of specific deadlines would be a bad mistake," Gates said.