President Obama gave a press conference Wednesday during which he answered questions on the fiscal cliff, saying:

[U]p until about a couple of days ago, if you looked at it, the Republicans in the House and Speaker Boehner I think were in a position to say, we’ve gotten a fair deal.  The fact that they haven’t taken it yet is puzzling and I think a question that you’re going to have to address to them. Read more »

In Foreign Affairs, Sam Pepple uses data from the Tax Policy Center to illustrate what’s actually being negotiated when it comes to the fiscal cliff. The graphic details the tax increases and cuts that are being discussed and shows how tax rates would be affected if there is no deal reached before the end of the year. Read more »

House Speaker John Boehner proposed a “plan B” (WashPo) Tuesday morning that will raise taxes on those making over $1 million in case no comprehensive deal is reached on the fiscal cliff by the end of the year. Boehner said that President Obama’s most recent proposal is still not “balanced” and hopes to bring his “plan B” to a vote by the end of the week, reports the Washington Post: Read more »

President Obama has decided on Sen. John Kerry (D-MA) as his choice for secretary of State (Reuters), according to multiple sources, who say an official announcement is expected as early as mid-week. If nominated, Kerry is unlikely to face a Senate confirmation fight (CSMonitor). Read more »

On the Fiscal Cliff

Hal Movius, a social psychologist specializing in negotiation and visiting professor at the Darden Graduate School of Business, writes in TIME that while the fiscal cliff negotiations are often cast as a two-party conflict between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, the situation is “quite different”: Read more »

A new ABC News/Washington Post poll released Wednesday shows that 49 percent of the U.S. public approves of President Obama’s handling of the fiscal cliff negotiations (CNN), and 25 percent approve of House Speaker John Boehner’s actions. Read more »

President Obama made a new fiscal cliff proposal (CBSNews) on Monday and Republicans made another counteroffer on Tuesday. Specifics of the proposals have not been released other than that Obama’s offer calls for $1.4 trillion in new revenue, down from $1.6 trillion. Meanwhile, House Speaker John Boehner continued to press him to identify specific spending cuts. Read more »

After the fiscal cliff, immigration is another area where President Barack Obama will be looking to achieve significant reform (MSNBC). Read more »

President Barack Obama took his fiscal cliff campaign to Michigan (AP) Monday, where he spoke to an audience at the Daimler Detroit Diesel Plant about manufacturing in the United States and discussed his plan to reduce the deficit and avert the cliff. Read more »

House Speaker John Boehner and President Obama met privately at the White House Sunday to discuss the fiscal cliff (LATimes), their first face-to-face meeting in over three weeks. Details of the meeting have not been made public, but “it was the clearest sign yet that after a week of public posturing and dire warnings intended to sway public opinion, the private negotiations may be producing progress,” report the LA Times. Read more »