Hopes dimming for a wide-ranging bargain, the White House and many congressional Republicans appear to be setting their sights on a more modest deal that would extend current tax rates for most Americans, raise rates for top earners and leave other, vexing issues for the new year. President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner met late Thursday for less than an hour at the White House, but there were few signs of progress. Both sides agreed to describe the talks as “frank,” a less than optimistic assessment that suggested the president and the speaker stuck to their opposing positions. Boehner was sticking with his plans to leave for his home state of Ohio today, limiting opportunities for further in-person talks in the coming days. While Boehner took the lead in negotiations, a growing number of Senate Republicans were calling on their House colleagues to yield on their opposition to letting top tax rates increase on income over $250,000 for couples, while extending Bush-era tax cuts for everyone else. Such a step would require capitulating to Obama’s demands, but it would leave other fiscal issues unsolved until 2013, including an increase in the nation’s borrowing limit. Republicans have insisted that the debt cap is a key piece of leverage to extract spending cuts from the Obama administration. The Associated Press has the full story here.
Today’s poll question: Who do you think will blink first on the “fiscal cliff” issue?
