Among the miscalculations that the Obama administration has made about renewing the Bush tax cuts is one that isn't strictly political but could certainly affect the outcome.
I'm speaking of their apparent ignorance of Altruistic Punishment, the notion that people will willingly sacrifice some benefit to themselves in order to punish someone they perceive as being greedy, or unfair, or evil. (This of course completely contradicts the "rational man" hypothesis of traditional economics.)
If you're interested you can read more about it here.
This relates directly to the current tax cut kerfuffle, and what Democrats should do about it…
We know that the great majority of Americans are against extending the tax cuts to the top earners. On top of the enormous bailouts and bonuses these greedy bastards have received, this is the last straw for many people.
Given that, it's not a stretch to suppose that average citizens would embrace Altruistic Punishment and forego their own tax cuts if they could deny much larger cuts for the rich.
So the best strategy for Democrats would be to call the Republican bluff and let the Bush cuts expire. Send a very strong message about why they're doing it: these overprivileged creeps don't deserve yet another deficit-expanding bonus; instead they should be punished, and if it costs the average taxpayer a few bucks, then so be it.
Then start over in January with a middle-class tax cut bill, and dare the Republicans to oppose it.
Another attractive feature of such a strategy is that it would demonstrate that Democrats can be strong, and aren't afraid of the Republicans.
Will we see this? Probably not. But it's a nice idea.