As for Obama, he clearly is afraid to alienate enviros by approving the jobs-rich pipeline. His promised green jobs haven't materialized. On the jobs front, he doesn't have a trick up his sleeve. So he promises a tax cut today paid for by tax hikes tomorrow.
No worries. Only a few cranks will complain about the corrosive effect on public support for the Social Security system. Some will claim that they support the tax holiday -- but only for one more year.
Then it will be 2012. And it will be awfully hard to vote against a free lunch.