There is at least one thing to like about the tax-raising, can-kicking deal that avoided the fiscal cliff: It gave the U.S. military a 60-day reprieve from the consequences of sequestration.

Considering that House Republicans don’t have the votes to force the Senate or the White House to get serious on entitlement reform, that’s a decent consolation prize – even better than reducing the tax bill from $800 billion or more to $600 billion. Somewhere, Ronald Reagan is smiling. The military he bought – which is still the one that’s out there fighting in Afghanistan and otherwise patrolling the perimeters of the Free World – will be able to carry on for a bit longer.