The other three scenarios include: going over the fiscal cliff with no compromise, going over the cliff with some middle-class tax cuts, or an agreement with a high degree of partisan divide but some compromise.
As the narrative of the fight for the middle class in the fiscal cliff debate was inextricably linked to this number, this begs the question of how the middle class will fare in light of the need to compromise.
And the fact that the short-term bipartisan compromise passed by almost the entire Senate is the only option to ensure that middle-class families are not hit with a tax hike in 10 days and gives both sides the time needed to work out a full-year solution.