The Fiscal Cliff, Susan Rice and Political Gamesmanship

As promised, President Obama had lunch with Mitt Romney today — no press coverage, no details of their discussion. But just weeks after the election, partisanship is still the word in Washington. After days of optimism about avoiding the fiscal cliffs, hard lines are now being drawn. The President and House Speaker John Boehner spoke by telephone last night, and it appears the President is still insisting that priority number one is the bill to maintain tax breaks for the Middle Class while raising rates on the wealthy. At a news conference this morning, Boehner threw cold water on the President's muchadvertised return to the campaign trail to win public support.