Obama, Boehner: Stalemate?

And still we wait.

After three days of meetings, phone calls, and exchanges of anti-fiscal cliff plans, the White House and Congress spent Wednesday complaining about the other side.

Administration officials said the latest GOP proposal calls for extending all the George W. Bush-era tax cuts, including the high-end ones for Americans who make more than $250,000 a year. President Obama and aides say they will insist that tax rates for the wealthy be increased.

"The president has made clear he will not support legislation that hands another tax cut to the wealthiest 2% of American earners," said White House spokesman Jay Carney.

House Speaker John Boehner, R-Ohio, and backers said the White House is distorting a plan that calls for overall tax reform in 2013. They want to raise more government revenue by eliminating certain loopholes and tax deductions.

Republicans also said the White House isn't interested enough in spending cuts.

"The longer the White House slow-walks this discussion, the closer our economy gets to the fiscal cliff, and the more American jobs are placed in jeopardy," Boehner said.

The fiscal cliff is a series of tax hikes and automatic budget cuts that take effect next year if the parties are unable to reach an agreement to start reducing the $16 trillion-plus federal debt. It includes the Bush tax cuts that are set to expire Jan. 1.

Earlier this week, some officials had hoped for an agreement by Christmas. Given congressional rules and the challenged of putting complicated legislation on paper, that goal is starting to look less and less likely.