Logged In: YES 
user_id=80475

Guido has given me the go ahead to put it in eventhough we 
haven't had a chance for thorough review.  I've looked at the 
code again and agree it cannot be further simplified -- that 
was just wishful thinking.

The best thing to do right now is for you to desk check your 
patch one more time.  I'll work on the doc update and 
newsitem.  After your desk check, a couple of unittests would 
be very helpful.