President Obama was thrilled after a key Senate vote strongly endorsed the package of tax cuts and unemployment benefits he had negotiated with congressional Republicans. “This proves,” he said, “that both parties can in fact work together to grow our economy and look out for the American people.”

We certainly hope he’s right. The wide support for this bill provides a welcome respite from the blustery partisanship that has lashed the capital for the past two years. When radio host Rush Limbaugh and labor chief Rich Trumka both hate a compromise, it has to be a good one.

But spending money is the easy part – $858 billion, in this case. The hard part comes next, when Congress and the president must confront a much tougher problem, reining in deficits that threaten to corrode the economy for many years to come. The recovery is too anemic to absorb vigorous deficit-reduction measures right now, but the time for shared sacrifice is coming, and soon.