Obama signals no fiscal cliff deal before Christmas (VIDEO)

GlobalPost

President Obama signaled Friday that fiscal cliff negotiations would not be resolved before Christmas.

The speech comes at the heels of a rejection by House Republicans of the so-called "Plan B," a deal drawn up by Republican House Speaker John Boehner to avert the fiscal cliff without a grand bargain with the Obama administration.

The deal faltered on Republicans' refusal to allow tax rates on the 400,000 wealthiest Americans to increase, reported the Washington Post.

Boehner's plan would have averted tax hikes on most Americans while allowing for some spending cuts.

CNN reported that Boehner said after the rejection: "They weren't taking it out on me."

"They were dealing with the perception that somebody might accuse them of raising taxes."

Obama warned in a press conference Friday that the fiscal cliff meant an automatic tax raise for middle class Americans - a scenario both parties wanted to avoid.

“We are going to have to find some common ground," said Obama.

“Nobody can get 100 percent of what they want."

The Associated Press reported that Obama was meeting with Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid before the statement to discuss ways to avoid the fiscal cliff.

With less than 10 days left to reach a deal, it is now up to Obama and the Democrats to draw up a plan that could get sufficient Republican support in the House.

On Friday, the President recommended that politicians spend some time with family, sing Christmas carols and drink some eggnog - activities that might provide "perspective."

More on GlobalPost: The fiscal cliff, explained

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