There are some great articles on Politico that cover the subject, including this:
Why Obama, McConnell took the deal
The article demonstrates my deep frustrations with this deal. Obama is under a false impression of having some type of “leverage” whereas it’s the Republicans that hold all the leverage now. In the upcoming fight over the debt ceiling and sequestering, they will demand deep spending cuts from entitlements and possibly even demand tax cuts. With no fiscal cliff threat, Obama will have no choice but to cave.