Regardless of opinion on the whole of the subject, it's unbelievable that the Democrats haven't been able to 'make hay' out of the Republican stonewalling. Obama was always in favor of keeping the tax cuts for the middle and lower class - it's the "rich" (and I use that term loosely as it means different things in different places) that he always opposed.

Of course, there's another possibility - that the Democrats are purposely allowing this to happen so that they can blame the GOP for everything when the 2012 election rolls around *and* get the "benefit" of the higher tax receipts that the non-partisan CBO say will result if *all* the tax cuts expire. The Dems are quick to point out how much the tax cuts for the wealthy will "cost" to the deficit but aren't as quick to point out how much the REST of the tax cuts would "cost" if extended.