He couldn't get a deal with Democrats so he went to the Republicans

Steve Pearlstein:

Like it or hate it, one thing you can say about the tax deal that President Obama struck with Republicans is that it sure beats the one hammered out by Democratic leaders in Congress. That's because Democratic leaders never actually produced one that had a chance of being enacted.

So it should be no surprise that when the new Congress takes office next month, the lineup of Democratic leaders in both chambers will be pretty much the same. Why shake things up when everything is going so well?

As inept as Obama has been, the Democrats in Congress haven't been far behind.