By DAVID ESPO
AP Special Correspondent
WASHINGTON – A united House Republican leadership surrendered crisply and cleanly on legislation to extend expiring payroll tax cuts for 160 million Americans, skipping most if not all of the self-defeating drama that accompanied their far noisier retreat on the same issue late last year.
In doing so, they helped avert an election-year tax increase on the middle class as well as the blame Democrats surely would have sought to pin on them for hampering an economic recovery.
Yet they also handed President Barack Obama an unambiguous political victory as he campaigns for re-election.