For Democrats, it's about tax cuts for the rich.
Those differing views dominate discussion of a possible deal over the George W. Bush tax cuts that expire at the end of the year.
Obama and the Democrats are, reluctantly, discussing an extension of all the Bush tax cuts, even those for the wealthy, but only a temporary one.
Republicans will agree to extend unemployment benefits as well as a series of middle-class tax cuts Obama wants.
Democrats who reluctantly support theoretical agreement say it's the only way they would be able to extend the tax cuts for the middle class, who they say are held hostage to Republican emphasis on the wealthy.
The GOP's position is a continuation of "the Bush economic policies," said Senate Majority Whip Dick Durbin, D-Ill.
"And the Bush economic policies of tax cuts for the wealthiest individuals have led us into this recession, (and) cost us 15 million jobs, have utterly failed," Durbin said on CBS' Face The Nation. "You can't point to those policies as successful."
Obama Tax Cuts For Rich
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