Andrew Sullivan's take on the President's Strategy on the Bush Tax Cuts...

From The Grand Compromise:

So let's get this straight: at a moment when most acknowledge a fiscal crisis that requires sacrifice on both sides, such sacrifice means the GOP gets its budget-busting non-sunsetting of Bush's tax cuts, and the Dems get to extend unemployment insurance. The former is far more damaging than the latter to fiscal sanity, but both add to spending after an election in which the public allegedly stood up as one to demand fiscal restraint.

Here's why it makes sense for Obama. It certainly helps goose the economy for the next two years, which has got to help him win re-election; if done quickly, it can create room for the new START and repeal of DADT in this Congress; in the next Congress, Obama can focus on long-term debt reduction in the State of the Union, without being mau-maued on tax hikes.

I don't see this as surrender. I see this as Obama's cold-blooded pragmatism. Why is this still news?

All I'll say is that along the terms Andrew Sullivan names, the strategy will probably work. The problem are the terms Andrew doesn't name.

The simple fact of the matter is that a great number of the President's Liberal base (myself included) doesn't like this compromise, even with the caveat that it comes with an extension of Unemployement benefits (which I do like, but I think we should've held 'em up for more).

On top of that, as dear ol' Doctor Dad says, the Tax Cuts are not paid for (i.e., they are not offset with spending cuts) and the Unemployment Extension will be.

But, like with everything else in the Media's view of Obamaworld, that's not necessarily the case. And until its put in stone, speculation isn't warranted. Remember, 48 hours ago, major figures in the media were saying that the Democrats were going to cave on the Tax Cuts issue, getting exactly squadoosh in return.

But to me, this is another case of the President getting blamed a little too much for the ills of our fellow (cough-cough) Democrats. The middle class is important to a huge majority of our caucus...but not 100%, Kent Conrad, Ben Nelson, Joe Lieberman, Blance Lincoln, Mark Pryor are among the few that seem willing to screw the deficit over (along with the whole GOP caucus) in order to get a few tax cuts for millionaires.