After meeting with White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel and House Speaker Nancy Pelosi, veterans groups are reporting that the administration is dropping the appalling proposal to charge veterans’ private insurance to cover health care for service-related injuries.

This is a welcome about face on a policy that should have never seen the light of day.

Veterans groups were worried the idea was being seriously considered after meeting with the president on Monday. To them, Barack Obama seemed to be unwilling to drop it.

The odd thing about this is that Pelosi announced the shift (dare we say flip-flop), and not Veterans Affairs Secretary Eric Shinseki, White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, Emanuel or even the president himself.

Here’s what Madam Speaker had to say:

President Obama listened to the genuine concerns expressed by the veteran service organizations regarding the option of billing service-connected injuries to veterans’ insurance companies. Based on the respect President Obama has for veterans and the principle concerns of our veteran leaders, the president made the decision that combat wounds should not be billed through their insurance policies.

Why it had to take the vocal opposition from worried veterans to make it clear to our president that this was a bad idea is still anyone’s guess. As I said before, if this was just some bean-counters running numbers in a report, the White House could have quashed the idea to turn its back on the sacred obligation it owes to our veterans right away — but it didn’t. Instead, it chose to scare our injured veterans while exploring a way to skimp on $500 million of their health care coverage.

Which makes me think it was actually being considered.

And did it also take the opposition of veteran service organizations for the president to find his respect for our veterans? Shouldn’t respect for those who put their lives on the line for the rest of us tell you right away that making them find their own coverage for war injuries is a bone-headed idea?

But in the end, the president did the right thing, even though he bumbled his way through it. Next time, be willing to tell your staff when they have a bad idea.

That’s what we call leadership.