House and Senate leaders sat down with Obama today and made clear that they are going to force a vote on extending only the middle-class portion of the Bush tax cuts instead of trying to forge a compromise with Republicans that would also extend cuts for the wealthy. (The president has had a bit of trouble explaining his stance so far.) Speaker Nancy Pelosi took a hard-line stance against a compromise, while Harry Reid seemed to indicate that he might be more flexible. [Politico]
