thetorwhington post November 14, 2012 Obama's door to tax compromise By Editorial Board IT'S NORMAL FOR President Obama and congressional Republicans to be pushing and posturing in the wake of last week's election. Everyone is trying to gauge how the political dynamics have shifted, though on paper the balance of power remains unchanged. All are trying to enhance their bargaining position. Both sides want to seem reasonable to Americans who want politicians in Washington to compromise, while reassuring partisans that they will stand up for principle. It's normal but also potentially dangerous, because compromise is going to be essential. In the short term, if Congress and Mr. Obama don't reach an agreement by the end of this year, tax rates will rise and spending is due to be slashed. The economy would go back into recession, according to the Congressional Budget Office, and unemployment would spike again. In the long term, the United States faces ever-mounting debt that could leave the government with little to spend beyond what it owes on pension and health-care programs and interest on the debt. It's been collecting about 16 percent of national economic output in taxes and spending about 24 percent. That's not sustainable. The biggest obstacle to compromise over the past couple of years has been Republican insistence that revenue can't go up. It's been encouraging to see many in the GOP shift, albeit gingerly, off that position since Mr. Obama's reelection. But most Republican leaders continue to insist that revenue can't be raised by hiking income tax rates. Instead, they suggest a change to the tax code — limiting the value of deductions and closing loopholes. Some Democrats in Congress and the administration, meanwhile, insist that only raising rates will be acceptable. Mr. Obama struck an appropriate balance in this debate Wednesday during his first press conference since his reelection. His first choice, he made clear, is for Congress