Topics: Opening Shot, Editor's Picks, John Boehner, Barack Obama, Fiscal cliff, Politics News 
 
 Last night was hardly the first public humiliation that John Boehner has suffered at the hands of his fellow Republicans, but it’s probably the most stark. And it raises some very basic questions about the House speaker’s political future – like whether he even has one. 
 
 That Boehner had devised and pursued Plan B in the first place seemed to speak to his weak grip on the GOP conference. Boehner and President Obama had negotiated their way to within spitting distance of each other, with the president giving significant ground on his revenue demands, agreeing to a reduction in Social Security benefits, and giving up on a payroll tax holiday extension. But when word of the looming deal leaked, House Republicans let their displeasure be known, and the speaker announced that he’d instead hold a vote on a bill to extend the Bush tax rates for all income under $1 million. That was Plan B. 
 
 Exactly where Plan B fit into Boehner’s overall strategy was a matter of some debate, but he pressed hard for it and confidently predicted he had the 218 votes needed to pass it. So now we know that not only does Boehner not have sufficient support among Republicans to pass a potential compromise with Obama, he also doesn’t have the support to pass his own plan. 
 
 It’s still possible some kind of fiscal cliff deal will be completed before Jan. 1, but it’s hard to see how. Last night’s developments are a clear sign that a significant chunk of Republicans are simply committed to never voting for any kind of tax hike – even one on a tiny chunk of super-wealthy people, even when it comes with some serious concessions from the other party, and even when failing to act means that taxes will go up for everyone. 
 
 The most likely scenario now is that Jan. 1 will come and go, the Bush tax cuts will expire for all Americans, and President Obama and Democrats will then introduce a bill to restore the Bush rates for most people – maybe using the $250,000 income threshold that Obama stuck with until this week. Maybe then, when the vote really would be for a tax cut, Republicans will sign off on it. But for now, that’s not where they are. ||||| The endgame at hand, both Democratic and Republican congressional leaders expressed optimism Thursday at prospects for swift compromise to extend Social Security tax cuts, keep long-term jobless benefits flowing and avoid a threatened partial government shutdown at midnight Friday. 
 
 President Barack Obama speaks in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the campus in Washington, Thursday, Dec. 15, 2011, where he announced action to provide minimum wage and overtime protections... (Associated Press) 
 
 Still another year-end bill, setting new rules for the handling of terror suspects in U.S. custody, won final congressional approval and headed to President Barack Obama's desk for his signature. 
 
 "Right now, Congress needs to make sure that 160 million working Americans don't see their taxes go up on Jan. 1," said Obama, referring to the tax cut extension at the core of the jobs program he outlined in a nationally televised speech three months ago. 
 
 House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio, the most powerful Republican in an era of divided government, agreed. "We can extend payroll tax relief for American workers, help create new jobs and keep the government running. And frankly, we can do it in a bipartisan way," he said. 
 
 The long-moribund job market, too, appeared to be on the mend. Government figures showed 366,000 applications for unemployment benefits were filed last week, the lowest number since the near-collapse of the financial system in 2008 and the brutal recession that followed. 
 
 In the Capitol, the previous day's bristling rhetoric and partisan jabs all but vanished.0 
 
 Republicans agreed to consider changes to a $1 trillion spending bill compromise that they and at least one Democrat said had been wrapped up days ago. The White House said it wanted adjustments. 
 
 There were separate negotiations on legislation to extend the Social Security payroll tax cut and unemployment benefits. Democrats abandoned their demand for a surtax on million-dollar incomes that they wanted to include in the measure, removing a provision that Republicans strongly opposed. 
 
 "We hope that we can come up with something that would get us out of here at a reasonable time in the next few days," said Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid of Nevada. 
 
 At a news conference, Boehner minimized the concession, noting that Democrats lacked the votes to impose the surtax a year ago when they commanded 60 votes in the Senate. Even so, he said, "there was some movement yesterday from the White House and Democrat leaders" toward a compromise. 
 
 Boehner also left open the possibility of a compromise on another key sticking point _ a House-passed provision that all but requires construction of the proposed Keystone XL oil pipeline from Canada to Texas. 
 
 Construction "will put 20,000 people to work immediately And there are about 115,000 other jobs directly related to it," he said. Yet he skipped an opportunity to say construction of the project was a non-negotiable condition as talks on the payroll tax cut bill proceed. 
 
 Obama has threatened to veto the House-passed bill, in part citing the requirement for the pipeline. The project has been studied for more than three years, but the president recently announced he would put off a decision until after the 2012 elections. 
 
 Without an extension of the payroll tax cut, 160 million Americans will have smaller take home pay beginning on Jan. 1, a fact that the president and leaders of both parties stressed as they looked for compromise. 
 
 Obama asked Congress to extend and also to expand the payroll tax cut that took effect last Jan. 1 and is due to expire at the end of the year. The House-passed bill renews the current reduction for one year, and it was unclear whether a final compromise would go any further. 
 
 The president also wants to leave in place a system that provides aid for up to 99 weeks for the long-term unemployed. The House-passed measure reduces the total by 20 weeks, a step that the administration says would cut off 3.3 million individuals and that Democrats are hoping to soften if not reverse. 
 
 Also part of the negotiations was an attempt to head off a threatened 27 percent cut in payments to doctors who treat Medicare patients, an item added in the House to appeal to conservatives unhappy at extending the payroll tax cuts. 
 
 Reid indicated that a number of expiring tax breaks were on the table, as well, a list that included a provision that benefits commuters who use mass transit. 
 
 In a bow to deficit-conscious conservatives in the House, Obama and leaders in both parties have agreed to offset the cost of the measure to avoid raising deficits. 
 
 The White House and Democrats wanted to use the surtax on million-dollar income to finance most of the bill. But with that off the table, they were required to look elsewhere in talks with Republicans. 
 
 The House-passed measure relied on a pay freeze and increased pension contributions for federal workers, as well as higher Medicare premiums for seniors with incomes over $80,000, beginning in 2017. The bill would also would raise a fee that is charged to banks whose mortgages are guaranteed by Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and cancel more than $40 billion from the year-old health care bill that is Obama's signature domestic achievement. 
 
 At about $1 trillion, the year-end spending measure would lock in cuts that Republicans extracted from Democrats in negotiations conducted months ago against the deadline of a previous government shutdown threat. 
 
 This time, the two sides reached an agreement days ago, according to Republicans and at least one Democrat, well ahead of the Friday midnight deadline. Somewhat belatedly, the White House and Reid insisted otherwise, and Republicans accused them of reneging on the deal to gain leverage in negotiations on the payroll tax bill. 
 
 In response to the Democrats, House Republicans threatened on Wednesday to repackage the measure and pass it. The leadership held the threat in abeyance while compromise negotiations took place. 
 
 The separate defense bill covered military personnel, weapons systems, the wars in Afghanistan and Iraq and more at a cost of $662 billion, $27 billion below Obama's request. The Senate approved it by a resounding 86-13. 
 
 The main controversy revolved around a provision to require military custody for foreign terrorist suspects linked to al-Qaida or its affiliates and involved in plotting or attacking the United States. Under a change made to gain Obama's backing, the legislation would permit the FBI to arrest and interrogate foreign terror suspects, as is now the case. 
 
 ___ 
 
 Associated Press writers Donna Cassata and Andrew Taylor contributed to this story. ||||| 9 days to cliff, 30 days to inauguration -- OBAMA TO BOEHNER: 'I get that for free' -- KERRY to be 'Mr. Secretary' -- Leibo goes to NFL game with Rubio, Alex - Diane Sawyer, Ted Cruz bday Presented by 
 
 SEN. BOB CORKER (R-Tenn.), to Peter Cook on tomorrow’s Bloomberg TV “Capitol Gains”: “It's time for us to get specific and not create another fiscal cliff, which is really what's being proposed -- creating another fiscal cliff to deal with this fiscal cliff.” 
 
 PRESIDENT OBAMA, in the Brady Press Briefing Room before he left for Hawaii: “In the next few days, I've asked leaders of Congress to work towards a package that prevents a tax hike on middle-class Americans, protects unemployment insurance for 2 million Americans, and lays the groundwork for further work on both growth and deficit reduction. That's an achievable goal. That can get done in 10 days. … I want to wish every American a merry Christmas. And because we didn’t get this done, I will see you next week.” 
 
 Story Continued Below 
 
 PALACE INTRIGUE – “How 'Cliff' Talks Hit the Wall: Behind Scenes, Boehner Failed to Sell Republicans on Taxes, While Obama's Spending Plans Rankled,” by Patrick O’Connor and Peter Nicholas: “[A]ccording to notes taken by a participant, Mr. Boehner told the president, ‘I put $800 billion [in tax revenue] on the table. What do I get for that?’ ‘You get nothing,’ the president said. ‘I get that for free.’ … Responded Mr. Boehner: ‘I've found in my life that everything I've ever wanted has come with price.’ … Brett Loper, the speaker's top policy aide, prodded White House officials to look for tax revenue elsewhere. In phone calls and meetings, he steered them to tax shelters and suggested limiting deductions for tax-exempt municipal bonds. … Loper said, ‘I'm asking you for help. Are you going to help me or not?’ … 
 
 “ During one session in the Capitol with White House's legislative liaison Rob Nabors, Mr. Loper … asked, referring to a near-deal during last year's debt-ceiling fight: ‘Can you get back into the zone of where you were in July 2011?’ ‘No,’ Mr. Nabors replied. ‘We were probably overextended then, and there's no way we would do it now.’ Mr. Nabors said if they couldn't reach a deal, they should keep lines of communication alive. … Loper asked, ‘So, you're breaking up with us?’ 
 
 “On Dec. 13, Mr. Boehner went to the White House at the president's request, joking he was going to the woodshed. The president told him he could choose one of two doors. The first represented a big deal. If Mr. Boehner chose it, the president said, the country and financial markets would cheer. Door No. 2 represented a spike in interest rates and a global recession. Mr. Boehner said he wanted a deal along the lines of what the two men had negotiated in the summer of 2011 in a fight over raising the debt ceiling. ‘You missed your opportunity on that,’ the president told him.” 
 
 --PLAYBOOK BACKSTORY, from someone familiar with the negotiations: “A few weeks ago, the WSJ asked the White House and the Speaker’s office to participate in a Newsweek-book-style project where they shared information about the talks on an embargoed basis to reporters who were taken off the daily story to avoid conflicts. The Speaker’s office agreed. Dan Pfeiffer and the White House refused to participate because they felt it had the potential to hamper the ability to get a deal in the short term, and was bad for the working relationship in the long term. After the Speaker’s Plan B blew up in his face on Thursday night, the WSJ decided to go ahead and publish the story, including private conversations between the leaders, … even though we don't yet have a deal, poisoning the water going forward.” 
 
 --JERRY SEIB, Washington Bureau Chief of The Wall Street Journal and Dow Jones Newswires, emails: “We set out to provide the most accurate account of the deficit deliberations possible, and reached out to all sides along the way. Nobody involved was surprised by the appearance of our story today.” 
 
 --PLAYBOOK TRUTH BOMB: Except for the few quotes above, the story is rehash – used news, as they say. We liked the “I get that for free” quote, but the Journal didn’t get the context. We checked, and Obama was referring to public concessions by Rep. Tom Cole and Senate Rs on the need to raise rates. So the White House didn’t have to trade anything for that. 
 
 TOP TALKER – WSJ A1, “Google Labors To Build A Phone … ran into difficulties … using a bendable screen,” by Amir Efrati: “Engineers at Motorola [acquired by Google in May] are hard at work on a sophisticated [Android] handset—known internally as the ‘X phone’— … [for release next year, an] effort to provide more potent competition for Apple … Motorola wanted … better color saturation and the ability to take panoramic shots … But some … features were found to drain battery life … Motorola also ran into difficulties when it looked into using a bendable screen and materials such as ceramics that would allow the company to make the X Phone more stress resistant, use more colors and mold into different shapes.” 
 
 SURE BETS FOR THE SUNDAY SHOWS – The NRA’s Wayne LaPierre is the cover pic of both N.Y.C. tabs: N.Y. Post wood, “GUN NUT! NRA loon in bizarre rant over Newtown” … N.Y. Daily News wood, “CRAZIEST MAN ON EARTH: Just 90 MINUTES after moment of silence for Newtown victims, vile NRA nut blames everyone and everything EXCEPT the guns.” 
 
 --JOHN DICKERSON of Slate, “Two Debacles in 12 Hours: Why today was a very bad day to be Republican”: “The NRA’s top lobbyist, Wayne LaPierre … was characteristically defiant, calling for security officers to be stationed at every school. He spoke with an edge, his voice straining … The night before, a committed band of Republicans defeated House Speaker John Boehner. … These two events—a defiant NRA and an incompetent leadership—cannot be the face of confrontation the GOP wants to show the public on high-profile issues. Tea Party activists and gun owners are a key part of the party base. But these public acts are out of sync with the moment and completely at odds with party's need to widen its membership. … 
 
 “The message of both of these acts … is: We don’t care about the wider audience. … [I]t's not the message that its putative leaders want to send. Chris Christie, Bobby Jindal, Marco Rubio, and Paul Ryan are all trying to send various messages of inclusion. … Holding more firmly to your views despite new circumstances can offer stability, but it also opens you up to looking remote, unconcerned, and out of touch. To those who might think you hail from another planet, it helps to speak to them in their language. That language requires a conversation, not an argument.” http://slate.me/VYeYkW 
 
 TOP STORY – Boston Globe banner, “Kerry tapped to lead State Department: Jockeying begins now to succeed 5-term senator,” by Bryan Bender and Glen Johnson: “President Obama nominated Massachusetts Senator John Forbes Kerry as the next secretary of state Friday, turning to the chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee and one of his earliest political allies to guide American diplomacy in an ‘uncertain world’ during the next four years. The selection of the 69-year-old Kerry … was heralded across the political divide as a wise choice of a fully tested player on the international stage who can dive into some of the world’s most challenging problems … If Kerry is confirmed, … Massachusetts Governor Deval Patrick would name a temporary replacement to fill his seat and a special election would be held later next year to complete his term, which is up in 2014. 
 
 “The nomination to replace Hillary Clinton is the capstone of a three-decade political career that began when Kerry, the son of a Foreign Service officer, returned from the Vietnam War a decorated veteran to become a leading voice of the antiwar movement. ‘In a sense, John’s entire life has prepared him for this role,’ Obama said during a joint appearance with Kerry, his wife, Teresa Heinz Kerry, and Vice President Joe Biden in the Roosevelt Room … [Obama] noted that it was Kerry who invited him, as an Illinois state senator, to address the 2004 Democratic National Convention in Boston. That speech catapulted Obama to national prominence.” 
 
 --N.Y. Times A1, “Kerry, in Role of a Lifetime, Is Pick to Lead the State Dept.,” by Mark Landler: “Kerry has been a loyal supporter of the Obama administration, guiding an arms-reduction treaty with Russia to ratification in the Senate and playing diplomatic troubleshooter for the White House in Afghanistan, Pakistan and Sudan. … In early 2008, Mr. Kerry endorsed [Obama] over Mrs. Clinton, and this fall he played the role of Mitt Romney in mock debates — sessions that by some accounts put the president’s teeth on edge. … 
 
 “Although Mr. Kerry is not a global celebrity like Mrs. Clinton, his background as a presidential nominee and his chairmanship of the Foreign Relations Committee have made him well known abroad, accustomed to meeting monarchs and presidents. In October 2009, he was viewed as instrumental in persuading President Hamid Karzai of Afghanistan to accept the need for a runoff election. Mr. Kerry spent 20 hours over five days with Mr. Karzai.” http://nyti.ms/12wkLVg 
 
 --PRESIDENT OBAMA, in the Roosevelt Room: “As the son of a Foreign Service officer, he has a deep respect for the men and women of the State Department … John has played a central role in every major foreign policy debate for nearly 30 years. As we turn the page on a decade of war, he understands that we’ve got to harness all elements of American power and ensure that they’re working together -- diplomatic and development, economic and political, military and intelligence … John, I’m looking forward to working with you instead of debating you.” 
 
 --“Israeli PM hails Kerry nomination” – AFP/Jerusalem: “Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu on Saturday welcomed the nomination of Senator John Kerry to replace Hillary Clinton as US secretary of state … I congratulate John Kerry on his nomination to the post of American secretary of state. Kerry, who has great experience, is a well-known defender of the security of Israel,’ he said in a statement issued by his office. … Netanyahu also said he greatly appreciated that six months ago, after his father died, Kerry visited him during the shiva.” 
 
 ** A message from the American Hospital Association: Will Congress Jeopardize Patients' Access to Care? As it works to reduce the deficit, Congress should not cut funding to hospitals and hurt patient care. Oppose Hospital Cuts. Protect Patient Care. Visit www.aha.org/preparedtocare to learn more. ** 
 
 2016 WATCH – Alex Conant gets two photo credit in NYT print edition -- SportsSaturday lead, “Football, And It’s Not Political: When Senator Marco Rubio attends a Miami Dolphins game, … [t]he subject is the N.F.L., period,” by Mark Leibovich in Miami Gardens, Fla.: “Rubio, the rookie Republican senator from Florida, is standing on the sideline at Sun Life Stadium 30 minutes before a Dolphins game against the New England Patriots in early December. … ‘You want to meet Coach [Don] Shula?’ Rubio asks me. I demur, fearful of looking directly at the Supreme Being without sunglasses. (I am also a Patriots fan.) ‘Well, I’m going to say hi to Coach Shula,’ Rubio says with hushed reverence. … As a child, Rubio wore braces on his legs to correct a knee problem; he hated the braces, so his father would call home from work claiming to be Coach Shula and saying that Marco needed to wear them if he ever wanted to play for the Dolphins. … Rubio, 41, is legitimate, a serious fan who not only can name the Dolphins’ long snapper (John Denny) but can also tell you that an N.F.L. long-snapper must get the ball to the holder in seven-tenths of a second. … 
 
 “[O]nly so much escape is possible for a politician in a packed football stadium, especially with a reporter along and, also, his two young sons, Dominick (5) and Anthony (7). Rubio coaches Anthony in youth football. We rode to the stadium from Rubio’s West Miami home in a rental car driven by the senator’s spokesman, Alex Conant. … [T]he former Florida Gator has not refrained at all from taunting Florida State fans via Twitter. ‘I was mocking them just last week,’ he says, boasting that one particular anti-F.S.U. posting — something about the fat lady singing — was ‘one of my most retweeted tweets ever.’ Rubio has an unusual familiarity with his own Twitter activity. After the Patriots signed the free-agent wide receiver Donte Stallworth on Dec. 4, Rubio mentioned to me that Stallworth followed him on Twitter. How did he know this? ‘Because he once retweeted something of mine,’ Rubio said. … 
 
 “Which is his least favorite N.F.L. team? ‘Jets,’ he says without hesitation. [Sorry, Rhoades!] ‘That’s the team I hate to lose to the most. They could be 1-15, and if they beat the Dolphins, their fans get obnoxious.’ … It is worth noting that the Jets’ owner, Woody Johnson, is a major Republican donor. (It’s also worth noting that I later receive an e-mail from Conant, the spokesman, emphasizing that the senator and Johnson ‘have a good relationship.’) … Conant … inches the rental car through the parking lot, fans zigzagging in front of him, not all of them sober. … Conant succeeds, heroically, and is on the highway a few minutes later with Dominick now fast asleep in the back.” See Alex’s pics. http://nyti.ms/UZz3HO 
 
 THE PRESIDENT ARRIVES IN HAWAII – Pool reports by NYT’s Jeremy Peters: “Potus arrived at Andrews via Marine One at promptly 7:30 p.m. local time. He, the first lady and their two daughters didn't linger long before boarding Air Force One, with the official temperature on your pooler's iPhone reading 39 degrees. Traveling with the president were Alyssa Mastromonaco, acting chief of staff, and Jay Carney, press secretary, and Bo the dog. We were taxiing on the runway at 7:35. … 
 
 “Honolulu Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam … Potus was wheels down in Honolulu at 12:06 a.m. local time, following a bumpy but very quiet 10-hour flight. No gaggling. … Potus quickly deplaned, having shed the leather jacket he was sporting in Washington for more climate-appropriate attire: a dress shirt, sleeves rolled up. At 12:26 a.m. we were on the move toward the vacation residence. … 12:54 a.m. Potus arrived at his vacation residence in Kailua, a quiet town on a crescent stretch of beach on the east end of Oahu. The bus carrying the press was not able to get close enough to the property to see it, or to see the Obamas. A light drizzle fell as the motorcade traveled around the eastern edge of Pearl Harbor, then up and over the mountains to Kailua. … We have a lid.” 
 
 --THE V.P.’S WEEKEND: “The Vice President will be in Wilmington, Delaware. There are no public events scheduled.” 
 
 BUSINESS BURST – “Wal-Mart Turns to Condé Nast for Beauty Magazine,” by Women’s Wear Daily’s Erik Maza: “Buried within Wal-Mart’s Web site … is a magazine called BeautyScoop. Thousands of stores also carry it, and it was mailed to millions of the store’s customers. … It has a model on the cover … Its own logo — the name in a large type underneath a smaller Wal-Mart tag. Though wafer-thin — it runs just 12 pages — and produced on glossy stock, it is as close as a store catalogue can come to a magazine. And there are editorial features. … Glamour, for instance, answered questions from its Twitter followers about ‘pretty girl problems,’ like thinning eyebrows. … The entire magazine was made by Condé, sources said. … This marriage of convenience takes the old-hat practice of custom publishing to a whole other, and more lucrative, level and advances publishers’ attempts at selling their marketing savvy. … The collaboration is secret. … 
 
 “Custom publishing is not a new bag. … Time Inc. … publishes My Ford magazine. … [P]ublishers have also increasingly moved to offer big-scale marketers the creative services they would normally get from ad agencies. … The initial [Wal-Mart] plan called for five issues … with 500,000 copies in-store, and direct-mail run sent to 2.5 million Wal-Mart customers … The cost of the project is in the millions … The final product was made to Wal-Mart’s orders — nothing too ostentatious, none of Glamour’s sometimes suggestive headlines. More importantly, while it would borrow the aesthetic of Condé magazines — flashy typeface and attractive models — as well as light editorial features, like beauty advice and Q&As, the name Condé Nast appears nowhere … Though the fate of the magazine in 2013 is unclear, sources say the two companies are already working on another joint project.” http://wwd.us/TKdxI8 
 
 --“Australian DJs could face prosecution for royal hoax,” by AFP’s Danny Kemp in London: “British prosecutors will decide whether to charge two Australian DJs after a nurse who took a hoax call to a hospital treating Prince William's pregnant wife Catherine apparently killed herself, police said Saturday. Scotland Yard said officers had this week sent a file to the Crown Prosecution Service over the prank earlier this month by presenters Mel Greig and Michael Christian, from Sydney's 2Day FM radio station. Indian-born nurse Jacintha Saldanha, 46, was found hanged in her lodgings at King Edward VII's hospital in central London, where Kate was being treated for acute morning sickness.” 
 
 ENGAGED: Josh Gold, political director for New York's Hotel & Motel Trades Council, popped the question to Courtney Zaktzer on Tuesday night at the Mandarin Oriental in Manhattan. (hat tip: Ken Vogel) 
 
 MILESTONE BIRTHDAY: Reid Phillip “Reido” Kellam, a junior at Penn State double-majoring in P.R./advertising and political science, rang in 21 with a beer at Martin's. His first, no doubt. Reid once summered at the Glover Park Group. (hat tip: Mom, Susan Kellam, and Dad, Dick Keil of Purple Strategies, plus Edgar, the pug) 
 
 BIRTHDAYS: Piper Adams is 1 (bonnet tip: Adams Family Community Group) … Diane Sawyer is ageless … Sen.-elect Ted Cruz of Texas is 42 (10-gallon hat tip: Stephen Cox) … former House Speaker Jim Wright is 90 … Adam Verdugo, senior producer for "Meet the Press," celebrating by preparing for tomorrow’s show (hat tips: Betsy, Erika) … WaPo's Valerie Strauss ... Jim Wright ... Paul Wolfowitz is 69 (hat tips: Patrick Gavin)... Matt Manda (comms director for Rep. Kevin Yoder) turns the big 3-0, celebrating his birthday by scoping out the Easternshore sailing town Oxford, MD followed by a dinner at the Barlett Pear Inn (tip: Elise) … Rich Ward (h/t Stuart Siciliano) … Rachel Manfredi, Director of Strategic Initiatives at the American Enterprise Institute (h/t husband Stephen Manfredi) …. Chris Austin, legislative director for Rep. John Garamendi, will celebrate his birthday weekend with his girlfriend, Mary, a civilian employee at Walter Reed Bethesda, and friend Charles “Chuck” Galbraith, in New York City. He thanks his legislative team for covering for him if the House is in session. (h/t Matthew Kravitz) …. Steve Carlton is 68 … Steve Garvey is 64 (h/ts AP) 
 
 BIRTHWEEK (was yesterday): John P. Coale, who celebrated with a quiet dinner with Greta and a GREAT bottle of wine at home. (hat tip: Tammy) 
 
 BIRTHDAYS TOMORROW: Chris Peacock , a Debate Commission spin-alley monitor, and former communications aide to Lloyd Bentsen, Donna Shalala, and Nancy Ann DeParle, is 52 … John Russell IV, Senior Managing Director at SNR Denton, is 38 (hat tip: his much better half) … MONDAY: Dorinda Moss, NRSC Finance Director (h/t Ben Ginsberg) … Jonathan Murphy, Center for the Study of the Presidency and Congress … WEDNESDAY: Jill Cooper Udall … Matthew Verghese, the Political/Communications Director of the Maryland Democratic Party, has his 26th birthday on Dec. 26 th (h/t Betsy Dudley) … DEC. 29: Andrew Malcolm, Rep. Greg Walden's press secretary (h/t Greg Meiselbach and Laura Reed) … DEC. 30: Lauren Claffey, press secretary for Sen. Saxby Chambliss (h/ts Bronwyn Lance Chester) 
 
 THE SHOWS, from @MattMackowiak: 
 
 -- NBC’s “Meet the Press”: NRA executive vice president Wayne LaPierre; Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-NY) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-SC); roundtable with Rep. Jason Chaffetz (R-UT), former Rep. Harold Ford, Jr. (D-TN), NBC’s Andrea Mitchell and NBC’s Chuck Todd 
 
 -- ABC’s “This Week”: Former DEA administrator and NRA Director of the National School Shield Program former Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR); the Brady Center to Prevent Gun Violence’s Sarah Brady; Sen. Johnny Isakson (R-GA); Sen. Amy Klobuchar (D-MN); roundtable with Mayor Cory Booker (D-Newark), Americans for Tax Reform president and NRA Board Member Grover Norquist, ABC News political analyst Matthew Dowd, Wall Street Journal columnist Peggy Noonan and The Nation Magazine’s Katrina vanden Heuvel 
 
 -- CBS’s “Face the Nation”: NRA president David Keene; Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison (R-TX) and Sen. Mark Warner (D-VA); Sen.-designee Tim Scott (R-SC); actor/director and Eastern Congo Initiative founder Ben Affleck; roundtable with Major Garrett, Margaret Brennan and Mike Allen 
 
 -- “Fox News Sunday”: Sen. Kent Conrad (D-ND) and Sen. John Barrasso (R-WY); Saddleback Church founder and senior pastor Rick Warren; roundtable with The Weekly Standard’s Bill Kristol, Daily Beast columnist Kirsten Powers, radio host Laura Ingraham and Fox News’ Juan Williams 
 
 -- CNN’s “State of the Union” (9 a.m. and noon): Rep. Mick Mulvaney (R-SC) and Rep. Steve LaTourette (R-OH); Sen. Joe Lieberman (I-CT); former DEA administrator and NRA Director of the National School Shield Program former Rep. Asa Hutchinson (R-AR); roundtable with National Journal’s Ron Brownstein, TIME Magazine’s Michael Duffy and USA Today’s Susan Page 
 
 -- CNN’s “Fareed Zakaria GPS”: (SUN 10am ET / 1pm ET): Economic roundtable with The Economist’s Zanny Minton Beddoes, Thomson Reuters’ Chrystia Freeland, former Bush administration chairman of the Council of Economic Advisers and Columbia University’s Glenn Hubbard and former Obama administration OMB director Peter Orszag; Washington Post columnist and Legatum Institute’s Anne Applebaum; author and former Obama administration “car czar” and Willett Advisors, LLC chairman Steven Rattner (“Overhaul: An Insider’s Account of the Obama Administration’s Emergency Rescue of the Auto Industry”) 
 
 -- C-SPAN: “The Communicators” (SAT 6:30pm ET): Author and Wired Magazine’s Andrew Blum (“Tubes: A Journey to the Center of the Internet”) … “Newsmakers” (SUN 10am ET / 6pm ET): Rep. Eliot Engel (D-NY), questioned by POLITICO’s Tim Mak and Foreign Policy’s Josh Rogin … “Q&A” (SUN 8pm ET / 11pm ET): 90 minute interview with c-author Paul Reid, who co-authored with William Manchester, the third and final volume of the historical trilogy, “The Last Lion: Winston Spencer Churchill, Defender of the Realm, 1940-1965) 
 
 -- NBC’s “The Chris Matthews Show”: Roundtable with BBC’s Katty Kay, TIME magazine’s Michael Duffy, The New York Times’ Helene Cooper and ABC News’ Sam Donaldson 
 
 --ABC7’s “Inside Washington”: (SAT 7pm ET on NewsChannel 8 / SUN 9am ET on ABC7 WJLA): Roundtable with Washington Post columnist Colbert King; NPR’s Nina Totenberg and syndicated columnists Mark Shields and Charles Krauthammer 
 
 -- Bloomberg’s “Political Capital” with Al Hunt (SUN 8am ET / 1pm ET): Rep. Kevin Brady (R-TX) 
 
 -- Bloomberg’s “Capitol Gains” (Bloomberg TV SUN 12pm ET / 5pm ET): Sen. Bob Corker (R-TN) 
 
 -- PBS’s “To the Contrary”: Roundtable with Del. Eleanor Holmes Norton (D-DC), Center for Equal Opportunity’s Linda Chavez, Democratic commentator Jennifer Rajkumar and the Heritage Foundation’s Genevieve Wood 
 
 -- TV One’s “Washington Watch with Roland Martin”: (SUN 9am ET): Psychologist Dr. Jeffery Gardere; National Medical Association president and Meharry Medical College (Nashville, TN) forensic psychiatrist Dr. Rahn Bailey; Drexel University adolescent psychotherapist Dr. Chuck Williams; ProPublica’s Dafna Linzer; writer and image activist Michaela Angela Davis; journalist / commentator panel with The Bernard Center for Women’s Michelle Bernard, JC Watts Companies co-founder and CEO Elroy Sailor, The Advancement Project’s Leila McDowell and Sirius/XM Radio’s Joe Madison 
 
 --SiriusXM's “Polioptics” with Josh King and Adam Belmar (SUN noon ET / 6 pm ET): Historian Michael Beschloss and Mark Updegrove, executive director of the LBJ Presidential Library, on a $10 million renovation. On SiriusXM's POTUS Ch. 124; also available for download on iTunes and at http://www.polioptics.com. 
 
 ** A message from the American Hospital Association: Will Congress Jeopardize Patients' Access to Care? America's hospitals are always open, serving our communities 24 hours a day, 7 days a week, 365 days a year. Even as hospitals face new challenges to provide high-quality care to everyone who needs it, Congress is debating additional cuts to hospital funding which would cost jobs and hurt access to care. Because hospitals care for everyone who comes to the ER, we provide billions in uncompensated care, including $39.3 billion in 2010. During the last decade, uncompensated care rose 82%. Now Congress could further cut hospital funding to reduce the deficit. These cuts will have serious implications for our patients, and could jeopardize access to quality health care. Oppose Hospital Cuts. Protect Patient Care. 
 
 Visit www.aha.org/preparedtocare to learn more. ** 
 
 Follow us on Twitter Anna Palmer @apalmerdc 
 
 
 
 Jake Sherman @JakeSherman 
 
 
 
 Daniel Lippman @dlippman
– Today's fiscal cliff developments have a familiar ring: More talk, no solutions. But while no miracles emerged from Capitol Hill, President Obama took to his podium to declare, "I still think we can get it done." He wants lawmakers to come back after the holiday to pass a scaled-down deal before year's end that protects most Americans from a tax increase and lays the groundwork for more comprehensive legislation, reports AP. Earlier, John Boehner said he would continue working toward a deal in the wake of his own "Plan B" meltdown, but added, "How we get there, God only knows," reports the Hill. Obama made the case that because Democrats and Republicans alike agree that the vast majority of Americans should be saved from a tax hike, "there is absolutely no reason, none," not to make it happen before the deadline 10 days from now. "Call me a hopeless optimist," he said, adding that he spoke with both Boehner and Harry Reid today. One plan in the works among Democrats is a proposal to extend tax cuts for those making below $250,000, extend unemployment benefits, and temporarily suspend automatic spending cuts, reports the New York Times.