America is rapidly approaching the cliff cliff, the moment when Congress finally averts our growing number of cliffs. Dr. Ruth said politicians opposed to compromise are probably bad in bed, shattering our view of Chuck Grassley. And President Obama will appear on Meet the Press to discuss the fiscal cliff negotiations, though no word on whether David Gregory will be allowed to conduct the interview from his prison cell. This is HUFFPOST HILL for Friday, December 28th, 2012:
PRESIDENTIAL COUNCIL ON FISCAL FITNESS – The top four congressional leaders met with President Obama today in hopes of achieving a last-minute deal to avert the fiscal cliff and allow Washington to get on with the business of creating another manufactured crisis. Speaking to reporters in the White House Briefing Room after the meeting, President Obama called the gathering “good and constructive” and said he is “modestly optimistic” a deal will be reached. He added that Harry Reid and Mitch McConnell are working on an agreement, confirming that the ball is in the Senate’s court. During the meeting, Speaker John Boehner reportedly insisted that a deal must originate in the upper chamber. If the Senate leaders cannot come to an agreement, Obama said, he would ask Reid to hold an up-or-down vote on a short term measure that would extend unemployment insurance, maintain tax rates for incomes under $250,000 and establish a framework for a longer term agreement next year. Earlier, Reid, speaking on the Senate floor, said there was “not a lot of hilarity in the meeting,” meaning Nancy Pelosi likely kept her famously hilarious Aristocrats jokes to herself. He also said the Senate would reconvene Sunday at 1:00 pm, presumably to give a day or so to hammer out some kind of agreement that could be voted on.
@mpoindc: President Obama will appear exclusively on @meetthepress this Sunday, as was just announced on the @NBCNews special report.
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