Getting To "Yes" On The Fiscal Cliff (The Note) THE CONSEQUENCES OF THE CLIFF: While the inside-the-Beltway focus has been on the wrangling between the White House and Republican Congressional leaders in the fiscal cliff talks, we've heard less about the practical effect of the failure to reach a deal before the end of the year. On "World News," ABC's Jonathan Karl profiled Melinda Vega. Unemployed for a year, Vega's $450-per-week unemployment checks could stop at the end of the year if lawmakers can't find a solution. And it's not just her, without a deal, unemployment compensation would end for more than 2 million Americans who have been without a job for more than 26 weeks. "We won't be able to pay some of our bills," Vega said in an interview with ABC News. As for Christmas and things of that nature, they're probably off the table. WATCH: http://abcn.ws/UoAtft WHAT NATIONAL FISCAL CLIFF POLLS TELL US (AND WHAT THEY DON'T): ABC News Political Director Amy Walter writes: National polls show that Republicans would take the brunt of the blame for a dive over the so-called fiscal cliff. In other words, what the general public thinks is not necessarily indicative of what the voters in the individual districts think. http://abcn.ws/Ufo4YY 2016 WATCH - PAUL RYAN'S NON-DECISION, DECISION: In an interview with Time Magazine's Massimo Calabresi, former vice presidential nominee and Wisconsin Congressman Paul Ryan weighed in on his political future: "Driving down Capitol Hill to the Kemp Foundation dinner, Ryan says he didn't think twice about jumping back into the budget battle as part of Boehner's team. How long will he stick with it? Having just won re-election, he says he has ­"every intention" to run for Congress again in 2014. But advisers admit he is eyeing a run at the White House in 2016, something other Republicans say is virtually a given. "I've decided not to decide" whether to run for President, Ryan says. "You can't hold on forever doing that, but I've decided to focus on my family and my job."" http://ti.me/Ugt13H They are about to find out in a few weeks. The Washington Post's Ed O'Keefe reports that senators plan to attend a special screening of the new film on Dec. 19 (President Obama held a private screening at the White House the week the move opened). "Perhaps they need the inspiration as they seek to avoid the "fiscal cliff," or maybe they're just looking for some nighttime entertainment. Or maybe it's all about finding excuses to socialize together - since everyone seems to agree that lawmakers need to do more of that when they're here in Washington," O'Keefe notes. "The fact that the Senate is scheduling an event for Dec. 19 - less than a week before Christmas and after they were expected to adjourn - confirms what many already fear: That Congress will be working down to the wire to avoid the New Year's deadlines tied to the fiscal cliff." http://wapo.st/Vl7Gas And even more - 53 percent - said lawmakers" failure to avoid the cliff would be "bad for their personal financial situation" compared to just 13 percent who said it wouldn't. Nevertheless, House Republican Whip Rep. Kevin McCarthy, R-Calif., called on the president to lead and predicted that we are entering a crucial phase of the talks - despite the fact that some lawmakers are leaving town for a long weekend. ABC'S RICK KLEIN: Members of Congress leave town for a few days - the perfect chance to get something done. If there's a fiscal cliff deal to be cut, it's going to have to start with the principals, as House Speaker John Boehner awaits the next real overture from President Obama. And having Boehner's colleagues nearby - not to mention the president's allies - would only complicate this portion of the democratic process. Both men need flexibility in what's still a relatively early stage of negotiations, and commentary from the rank-and-file is unlikely to be helpful, for now. Three weeks, even jammed by the holidays, is still a long time to accomplish something, by Washington standards, or at least to try to. ABC's AMY WALTER: While national polls - like today's numbers from Quinnipiac University - can be of some value in understanding the mood of the country going into the fiscal cliff debate, what they can't predict is the response of voters if we indeed fall off that cliff. Read More: http://abcn.ws/Ufo4YY ABC's Z. BYRON WOLF: Usually, when lawmakers try to strike a big deal, they do it in small groups and behind closed doors. But recent negotiations on how to deal with the fiscal cliff seem, at least on the outside, very different. Read more: http://abcn.ws/UHykhq WHITE HOUSE WATCH: This afternoon, President Obama will visit the home of a middle class family in Northern Virginia to continue to make the case for Congress to extend the middle class tax cuts, ABC's Mary Bruce notes. Responding to the administration's #My2K campaign, a member of this family shared her story about how she would be impacted if Congress doesn't act. This evening the First Family attends the National Christmas Tree Lighting. They spent millions of dollars backing the wrong presidential candidate, they were geared up to celebrate an Election Night victory that never happened, and now there's a good chance their marginal tax rates are about to go up, writes ABC's Shushannah Walshe. Your problem is entitlements, the third rail of politics." http://abcn.ws/UHAX2A ABC's Mary Bruce reports: Appearing on CNBC, [Treasury Secretary Timothy] Geithner was asked if the administration is willing to accept the impending spending cuts and tax increases if Republicans refuse to raise rates on the top two percent of income-earners as President Obama is demanding. "What we're trying to do is put in place a comprehensive, balanced set of fiscal reforms that put us back on the path of living within our means," he explained, when asked why the administration would be willing to go off the cliff, which experts say could trigger a recession. http://abcn.ws/VkNw0j The Pentagon has started to plan for the half-trillion dollars in automatic cuts over the next decade that it could face as part of the "fiscal cliff" that would start in the New Year, ABC's Luis Martinez notes. The Office of Management and Budget (OMB) had provided guidance that the Pentagon should conduct "internal planning" for sequestration cuts, Pentagon spokesman George Little told reporters Wednesday morning. It is one component of the coming "fiscal cliff" of spending cuts and tax increases that would be triggered in 2013 that has dominated the political debate in Washington since the presidential election. http://abcn.ws/UGz7iv ABC's Sarah Parnass reports: Chickpeas and lettuce. From Dec. 4 to Dec. 12, Booker has agreed to eat only what he could buy with just under $30-about $4 per day-and with fewer than two days completed, Booker's already faced challenges. ... On his first day, Booker ran into scheduling troubles and had to go for a long stretch with nothing to eat since he did not have access to any of the groceries he bought Monday. ... Another obstacle Booker will tackle this week is the loss of his usual java jolt. Day one, no caffeine... " http://abcn.ws/XrIfdE ABC's Mary Bruce reports: President Obama [Wednesday] issued a stern warning to Republicans in Congress threatening to use the debt ceiling as a bargaining chip in deficit negotiations, saying "it is not a game that I will play." "We've got to break that habit before it starts." http://abcn.ws/TJYNYC A group of moms, lobbying on the fiscal cliff, treated Congress to a bear pun, AC's Arlette Saenz reports: With teddy bears and storybooks in hands, moms representing a group called "MomsRising" took to Capitol Hill Wednesday to shed light on how the fiscal cliff would affect moms across this country. "We're coming forward with stories from moms across the countries, stories from main streets across the country about what the fiscal cliff will really mean to us," Kristin Rowe-Finkbeiner, executive director of MomsRising, said. A group of eight moms, some with children in tow, delivered teddy bears and storybooks reading, "Moms and families can't "bear" more than their fair share. Don't push us off the fiscal cliff," to 30 congressional offices. Messengers would deliver books to every member of Congress later today. After Sen. Dick Durbin told progressives last week that they'll need to accept a fiscal-cliff plan that does more than tax the rich, Vermont independent Sen. Bernie Sanders delivered some pushback in a speech at the National Press Club. "We have CEOs from Wall Street making millions of dollars a year, coming to Washington and saying we're gonna have to cut not only Social Security, Medicare, and Medicaid-we're gonna have to cut benefits for disabled veterans," Sanders said. "Let "em take that argument to the American people. ... We have got to stand tall and say that, in the middle of this recession, we've got 50 million people who have no health insurance at all. We're not gonna throw children off of Medicaid." http://abcn.ws/R8GeBx ABC's Mary Bruce reports on Wednesday's White House press briefing with press secretary Jay Carney and Deputy Director of the National Economic Council Jason Furman: Carney was asked repeatedly about the president's comment during last year's budget standoff that it was possible to raise $1.2 trillion in revenues without hiking tax rates, which the president now claims will not raise enough money. "The backstop of the deal, if there had been a deal, if the Republicans hadn't refused it and walked away from it, was that rates would go up on higher-income Americans when the Bush-era tax cuts expired concurrent with permanent extension of tax cuts for the middle class," Carney explained. The only way that wouldn't have happened is if tax reform were achieved in a way that was politically feasible, in other words, that could pass Congress. So, you know, there's not a great distinction here between what we're saying now. "There's a different context for those discussions then and the discussions now," Furman added. "Former Democratic congressman Tom Perriello has announced he will not be running for Virginia governor in 2013," reports the Huffington Post's Amanda Terkel. ""I have considered a run for Governor, and am genuinely touched by the outpouring of support. I do not feel called to serve in elected office at this time, but I do not need to have my name on the ballot to be part of the fight," he said in a statement posted by Blue Virginia on Wednesday. Perriello is a favorite within the progressive community and hit the campaign trail in the 2012 election as a surrogate for President Barack Obama. He is currently president of the Center for American Progress Action Fund, the advocacy arm of the progressive think tank in Washington, D.C. Perriello served one term in Virginia's 5th congressional district, beating then-incumbent Rep. Virgil Goode (R-Va.) in a long-shot bid in 2008 by just 727 votes. ... The Virginia gubernatorial race is shaping up to be a showdown between Virginia Attorney General Ken Cuccinelli (R) and former Democratic National Committee chair Terry McAuliffe. On Wednesday, Perriello threw his support behind McAuliffe." http://huff.to/VxAEcV After Sen. Marco Rubio caused a stir by saying he wasn't sure how old the earth is in an interview with GQ, ABC's Arlette Saenz reports that Rubio elaborated on Wednesday: "Science says it's about four and a half billion years old, and my faith teaches that that's not inconsistent," Rubio said at a Politico Playbook breakfast hosted by Mike Allen. But other people have a deeper conflict and I just think in America we should have the freedom to teach our children whatever we believe." http://abcn.ws/TIAigI @mattklewis: Good @marcambinder post -> "5 political realities about the fiscal cliff" - http://theweek.com/article/index/237263/5-political-realities-about-the-fiscal-cliff ... @RobSaliterman: Obama, Romney Digital Advisers Talk Shophttp://www.nationaljournal.com/blogs/techdailydose/2012/12/obama-romney-digital-advisers-talk-shop-05#.UMCigCD5jBV.twitter ... @TheFix: Bloomberg/Gore 2016! MT @howiewolf: . @algore on@MikeBloomberg this am: "Among mayors of this nation and this world, he stands out." @evanmc_s: "Apple To Start Manufacturing Some Macs In U.S. Next Year"http://livewire.talkingpointsmemo.com/entry/apple-to-start-manufacturing-some-macs-in-us ... @AmbassadorRice: Our hearts go out to the people of the Philippines and Palau and all who have lost loved ones in the typhoon. U.S. ready to assist.#Bopha