Washington Extra - Cold shoulder

WASHINGTON Dec 7 (Reuters) - It's a chilly day in Washington, and we're not just talking about the weather.

Democrats on Capitol Hill are giving President Barack Obama the cold shoulder after he blinked first in the stand-off with Republicans over extending tax cuts.

"We will continue discussions with the President and our Caucus in the days ahead," House Speaker Nancy Pelosi said. (Translation - House Democrats are not on board with this yet.)

Another sign of which way the wind is blowing: Republicans have been uncharacteristically silent since the compromise was announced.

As is often the case in Washington, those who talk loudest fear they are losing most, and those who are quiet don't want to rock the boat that's headed their way.

Obama said he had no choice because Republicans weren't going to budge from their "Holy Grail" of tax cuts for the wealthy, and it would be more difficult to reach a deal in the next Congress when they have more seats.

And then he proceeded to dish it out.

Republicans were likened to hostage-takers in the tax fight. "I think it's tempting not to negotiate with hostage-takers, unless the hostage gets harmed," Obama said. "In this case, the hostage was the American people. And I was not willing to see them get harmed."

For liberals who criticized compromise, Obama's message was that nothing would ever get accomplished by sticking to hardened positions.

"People will have the satisfaction of having a purist position and no victories for the American people," leaving them able to feel "sanctimonious" in the purity of their intentions, but with nothing achieved, he said.

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What we are blogging ...

Rising above politics ... in Washington

President Obama seems to want to rise above politics in the tax debate. Good luck with that. When he announced the White House's tentative tax deal with Republicans, he said he had agreed to compromise rather than "play politics" at a time when Americans want problems solved. But whether voters are grateful enough to reward his thoughtfulness in 2012 is another story.

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