WASHINGTON – Congressional Republicans’ unyielding stand against income tax increases has caught President Barack Obama and his allies off guard, resulting in the spending-cuts-only approach to deficit reduction that Democrats most wanted to avoid.

It also has dimmed hopes for broader efforts this year to start taming the costly and fast-growing “entitlement” programs of Medicare and Social Security.

The result is a new round of deficit reduction that tilts more toward Republicans’ wishes than many people would have expected after Obama won re-election with a campaign that called for higher taxes on the rich.