The AP and other outlets were reporting that Eric Cantor would not support the Senate bill, but since then Cantor spokesman Doug Heye tweeted that “Majority Leader Cantor stands with @SpeakerBoehner. Speculation otherwise is silly, non-productive and untrue.”

Some of us didn’t take the skills deficit seriously, but David Brooks shows us that it is a real problem. Apparently the New York Times cannot find a conservative columnist who can deal with basic issues of logic and arithmetic. Brooks is very upset because the budget deal apparently does not include any cuts in Medicare.

After winning two Presidential elections campaigning on raising taxes on those making over $250,000 a year, Barack Obama has once again caved to Republican opposition. This time in exchange for a deal to kick the can down the road.

There is some joy to be taken in the fact that nobody was able to harpoon the elusive white whale of Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid, and that somewhere Pete Peterson weeps.

But we are, as the HuffPo notes, in a permanent state of “cliff crisis” now. Timothy Geithner says the debt limit has once again been reached, and Peterson can take solace in the fact that Obama’s resolve not to negotiate with Republicans over the debt ceiling is indeed just as strong as his commitment not to negotiate over taxes for the rich.

Vice President Joe Biden arrived at the Senate this evening and word comes that Congressional leaders have reached a deal on the fiscal cliff negotiations.

President Obama campaigned for re-election on one central theme: those who’ve done well in America should pay more of their fair share. If you asked the lowest-information voter of 2012, s/he could probably tell you that Obama wanted to raise taxes on people making more than a quarter-million dollars a year. $250,000 was a number woven into every speech he made.

Even if the Senate comes up with a deal tonight the United States of America is still likely to go off the “fiscal cliff”.

Obama could have used this revenue-increasing deal to finally pivot to immigration, education, climate change, gun control or any of a dozen other issues that have been completely neglected while Washington has been overwhelmed with deficit hysteria. There is no shortage of more pressing problems in America that need to be dealt with. Instead Obama seems to be signalling that much of his second term is also going to be consumed with his desire to get a balanced deal to reduce the deficit, and in Washington “balanced deficit reduction” is basically the code word for cutting entitlements.

Social Security has not been saved from cuts, but it appears to have gotten another temporary reprieve. It will probably only be a few months before it is under attack again.

The proposal in the works would raise the tax rates on family income over $450,000 to 39.6 percent, the same level as under former President Bill Clinton. Also, estates would be taxed at 40 percent after the first $5 million, up from 35 percent to 40 percent. Unemployment benefits would be extended for one year.