While Democrats in Congress have balked at the tax-cut deal President Obama announced, the Democratic National Committee is out there pushing for it.
DNC Chairman Tim Kaine appeared on "The Early Show" this morning to talk about it, telling CBS's Harry Smith (video here) that "we're not going to let Americans get hurt [by letting the sub-$250K tax rates go up], and we need to continue to spur the economy."
The DNC operates as the political arm of the White House, but Kaine is caught between different factions of his party. House Democrats are angry. Senate Democrats are moving ahead with a different package than what Obama outlined, voting on a package that doesn't include an extension of the high-end tax cuts.
"You see the House doing what a legislative body always will, is that they're going to tinker around with it and try to find their own adjustments," Kaine said on CBS, explaining the haggling and disarray that's unfolded in Congress.
In an interview on MSNBC just now, Kaine said that "this is fundamentally about governing." In an op-ed in The Hill this morning, Kaine portrayed Obama as a responsible leader dealing with difficult political circumstances in a realistic way. The DNC's always-active press operation, meanwhile, has been emailing news clips of support for Obama's deal to reporters.