Just a two-month extension of the payroll tax holiday was at stake in this week's showdown in Congress — but according to The New York Times, President Obama won a much bigger political victory. The House GOP acquiesced Thursday to broad demands from Republicans in the Senate and leading Washington conservatives. President Obama and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell had urged Boehner to allow a vote on the plan, and everyone from Karl Rove to The Wall Street Journal's editorial board had criticized his earlier refusal to back anything less than a year-long deal. The Journal predicted that GOP tack would prove a boon to Democrats, and according to the Times, it has cast Obama as a tough populist.
