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Yes, President Obama and congressional leaders to discuss how to avoid going over of automatic tax increases and spending cuts.

But, no, that isn't inspiring much talk this morning of a breakthrough before the midnight New Year's Eve deadline:

-- The meeting comes "with no sign of progress in resolving their differences over the federal budget and low expectations for a 'fiscal cliff' deal before Jan. 1," .

-- , "neither side is hopeful that there will be a breakthrough on taxes and spending before the new year, and top Republicans considered the Friday meeting to be more about optics than last-ditch horse-trading."

-- "Publicly, there was little sign of ... a thaw Thursday. Instead, a sense of gloom pervaded the Capitol," . "Each party stepped up its efforts to proactively deflect blame, insisting that the other must act first."

-- "No one holds out much hope the group can reach a deal to avert the fiscal cliff on Tuesday, but stranger things have happened," .

, NPR's David Welna said that Democrats want assurances from Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell and his fellow Republicans that they won't filibuster any last-minute deal if one is reached. McConnell, David reported, "says that all depends on Democrats coming up with a proposal that's acceptable to both parties."

Not every lawmaker is pessimistic. David said that despite all the gloom and doom talk, "some key Republicans sense a deal may be about to emerge." Oklahoma Republican Rep. Tom Cole put it this way on MSNBC: "To paraphrase Ronald Reagan, there's so much manure around here, there's got to be a pony someplace."

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