From the New York Times:

President Barack Obama on Wednesday will make clear that he opposes any compromise that would extend the Bush-era tax cuts for the wealthy beyond this year, officials said, adding a populist twist to an election-season economic package that is otherwise designed to entice support from big businesses and their Republican allies.

Mr. Obama’s opposition to allowing the high-end tax cuts to remain in place for even another year or two would be the signal many Congressional Democrats have been awaiting as they prepare for a showdown with Republicans on the issue and ends speculation that the White House might be open to an extension.

The choice is pretty clear. Republicans are braying loudly, but they just want to drag us back to the policies that got us in this mess in the first place. Let's keep move forward away from the mess of the past, not back into it.

The Hill reports:

Say goodbye to the 10-point lead Republicans enjoyed in last week's Gallup poll of generic congressional preferences. 

Gallup's weekly tracking poll of the generic ballot, a key predictor of voters' actions in elections, showed Democrats and Republicans tied at 46 percent -- down from the 10-point lead the GOP held just a week ago.

What this really means is not that the parties are tied, but that the election is very volatile. There's a lot of economic pain out there, but people are disgusted by the GOP. It will take a lot of work, but we can win this race in the fall.