That will change on Wednesday, when Obama is expected to endorse some version of the commission’s proposals as a template for a grand fiscal bargain.

Coming just two months after the release of his fiscal 2012 budget, which included none of his commission’s proposals, the move is jarring. But White House aides say it makes sense: If Obama had introduced an ambitious plan, Republicans would have immediately tarred it as partisan and dismissed it as a legislative nonstarter.

But Democrats say House Republicans gave them a new opportunity to stake out the fiscal high ground when Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan, R-Wis., unveiled a sweeping plan that would drastically cut spending and overhaul the social safety net—yet would not significantly reduce the deficit over the next decade.

Obama administration officials say the Republican plan allows Democrats to establish themselves as fiscally responsible by embracing a bipartisan plan and characterizing the GOP approach as extreme. ...

... By contrast, Democrats hope their embrace of Bowles-Simpson—while then-Speaker Nancy Pelosi, D-Calif. deemed it “simply unacceptable” when first released, now-House Minority Leader Pelosi said it contains “many good suggestions”—will give them credibility as the party more interested in solving problems than fighting. [my emphasis]