Despite all the bluster in public, Politico reports this morning that there are signs that a framework for a fiscal cliff deal is emerging. We’re still a long way from an actual agreement, but Jim VandeHei and Mike Allen read the tea leaves to see what a deal might mean.
The New York Times looks at how the Susan Rice controversy has overshadowed the bigger issues concerning the attack on the U.S. consulate in Benghazi, Libya. And Politico looks at how Rice’s meetings with key senators went so disastrously wrong.
President Obama and Mitt Romney share a private lunch today at the White House. But don’t expect much to come of it — Politico looks back at the often frosty relationships between presidential rivals.
Another Democratic victory in the House of Representatives, as Republican David Rouzer concedes defeat to Democratic Rep. Mike McIntyre in North Carolina. That means the Democrats flipped eight seats in the 2012 election.
Democrats are already strategizing about how to win control of the House in 2014. They’ll need a net gain of 17 seats to do so.
Get ready for fireworks: The looming match-up between Ken Cuccinelli and Terry McAuliffe for the Virginia governor’s race will be the hottest campaign of the new year. Both candidates are polarizing figures of national prominence, and this race could get ugly fast.
Hardball staff