Weigel

The floor debate leading up to a vote on the tax cut deal is a tidy little study in spin. In his speech, in which he said he'd be voting aye, incoming GOP conference chairman Jeb Hensarling spent a lot of time deriding Democrats and said that the tax deal was a "half-full" glass.

"This is not some great job-creating bill," he said. It was only going to prevent damage to the economy.

Four minutes later, an endorsement of the bill from Rep. David Scott (D-Ga.) "This is a 24-month stimulus bill!" he said.