A compromise is shaping up over the fate of the Bush-era tax cuts set to expire at the end of the year. On Saturday, Republicans blocked a Democratic push to extend only the cuts on those earning less that $1 million a year, and the final package is now sure to include the GOP's wish to extend the cuts for all tax brackets. Many Democrats are not happy about this, but some of their concerns, like extending unemployment insurance, may survive. Is this a victory for the GOP and a disaster for Obama? (Watch a CBS News discussion about a potential compromise)
Obama caved — and will pay the price: This tax deal is "Obama's latest and perhaps most humiliating attempt to placate his Republican captors in Washington," says Frank Rich in The New York Times. "The captors will win this battle," and the resulting "economic disaster" will crush Obama and the Democrats in 2012. No wonder Democrats are outraged: Obama is such an inept negotiator you'd think he has "Stockholm Syndrome."
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