Lou -
I'm not sure if she blew it or not. I'm only hearing his side of the story. From his side, he did not handle the attempted reconciliation in any way that would make her WANT to go back to him. Sure, she messed up having the A. But wasn't he trying to "win her back" at that point? He was not displaying too many Divorce Busting techniques at that point.
You also stated it is next to impossible to not "blow it" when W/BB is being bitchy. Hmm... Don't men have control over any of their emotions? (that was sarcastic).
I'm just saying the most likely, easiest, cathartic response (bitching back, etc) is not necessarily the most effective response. Certainly not when trying to reconcile.