Fiscal Cliff Talks Seem Promising

President Obama and congressional leaders seemed in good spirits Friday as they had the first in a series of sit-down talks on a possible deficit-reduction deal that would prevent the country from careening off the “fiscal cliff.” Obama opened his first post-election meeting with lawmakers on both sides by noting that the biggest challenge will be to ensure they can “cooperate together” and “make tough compromises.” Lawmakers appear to have gotten off on the right foot, agreeing to discuss reforming tax code and “entitlement” programs—at this rate real cooperation could be in the future.