by Patrick Appel
Chait draws a line in the sand:
I can't emphasize strongly enough that Obama cannot agree to anything that locks in any part of the Bush tax cuts. To do so is to abandon the only leverage he could obtain and guarantee either the starvation of government or continuing massive deficits.
If Obama wins election, he needs the ability to use the GOP's opposition to any middle class tax cut extension without an extension for the rich as leverage to let Republicans kill the whole thing for him. And if he loses reelection, then the Republican who beats him will just reinstate the tax cuts. Either way, negotiating a partial end to the Bush tax cuts harms Obama. It's the red line.
David Frum differs:
Republicans must worry that if they don't win big [in 2012], they will lose the clout to keep the Bush tax rates in place. … Unless the GOP can lock in at least some of their preferences today, when they wield the leverage conferred by the debt-ceiling debate, they risk forfeiting everything in 2012.
The Dish 