In the back of every Washington politician's mind is this sobering fact: Unless Congress acts, the temporary tax cuts it passed when George W. Bush was president will expire at the end of next year.

If the Democrats who control Congress do nothing and let the tax rates on the highest income brackets return to their pre-2001 levels, their Republican rivals and many Americans will slam them as tax hikers.

If they prevent the legislation from expiring, however, they and any Republicans who support this approach will add $2 trillion to the already-growing federal budget deficit over the next decade. The news media and influential watchdog organizations will slam them for that.