Brian Beutler on Talking Points Memo has a nice analysis, Why The Bush Tax Cut Vote Was So Important.

He concludes with the following paragraph:

Now I don’t think the public hew and cry will be loud enough to force Republicans to move off their position before the election. Maybe if this were another issue — but not taxes. And if Mitt Romney wins in November, then they’ll just extend all the Bush tax cuts anyhow. But if Obama wins, this bill will still be live. And the pressure on the House GOP to relent and pass it during the lame duck will be overwhelming.

He might add that the likelihood of Obama’s reelection may have increased because of this vote and what the campaign will make of it.  The sudden display of a spine might also enliven the President’s supporters.  It certainly looks encouraging to me.

I was once under the impression that if the Republicans ran a reasonable candidate against Obama, that Obama had a chance of losing.   Now that we know that Romney can’t (and sometimes doesn’t even try) to hide who he really is and what he really stands for, I think Obama’s chances are improving.