Biden, McConnell Negotiated Deal

Despite the drama of months of negotiations between President Obama and House Speaker John Boehner, it was a day of phone calls between Vice President Joe Biden and Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell on Monday that finally resulted in a deal to avert the fiscal cliff. It is the third time that Biden and McConnell have saved the day at the last minute. In 2010, they struck a deal over the expiring Bush-era tax cuts and in August 2011, they came up with a bargain during the showdown over the debt ceiling. One Republican aide said, “It’s a buddy thing. The two of them can do business, they can find solutions together.”