Type of Content
Approved Story
1
Format
Enjoy the communal sigh of relief while it lasts, America. Sure, the endlessly-discussed "fiscal cliff" has been averted thanks to a flawed, 13th-hour deal -- but the high-stakes partisan wrangling is just beginning. We'll get to the road ahead in a moment, but first, a word or two about the compromise itself. Let's stipulate right out of the gate that it stinks. It was jammed through in late night votes at the last possible minute, it scratches the Left's "fairness" itch to no constructive end, and the CBO calcluates its tax hike to spending cut ratio is roughly 41 to 1. Pathetic. Nevertheless, Phil Klein captures things pretty well with his appraisal of the deal as "objectively bad, but relatively good." He runs through the handful of reasons why it isn't an unvarnished disaster: