Biden defends Obama’s tax cut deal with the GOP

Vice President Joe Biden on Sunday defended the administration's decision to back an extension of the so-called Bush tax cuts, insisting it was a necessary "compromise to save people who are drowning."

In an interview on NBC's "Meet the Press," Biden reiterated that he and President Obama both continue to find tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans "morally troubling." But the vice president also admitted the administration didn't have the votes to block them without risking the entire bill, which also included an extension of jobless benefits for unemployed Americans.

"We got to the end, we couldn't get it done, and we had to make a decision," Biden told NBC's David Gregory. "Were we gonna let the middle-class tax cuts expire?"

Life is about "really tough choices," Biden insisted. He said Obama remains "a progressive leader," but said that in the end, the administration chose compromise over abandoning the middle class and Americans whose unemployment benefits were set to run out before the end of the year.

"There are two million people this month that can't afford to go get a Christmas tree, let alone buy any gifts, because their unemployment has run out," Biden said. "It's unfortunate we were put in the position where the Republicans made it clear they were ready to let everything fall unless they got those tax cuts."

He noted that the Bush tax cuts were extended for only two years. At that time, he said, "we're coming back and going at it again."

(Photo of Biden and Obama at tax-cut signing by Alex Wong/Getty Images)