In the odd ways of Political Washington, last week might have just been par for the course, as Democrats and Republicans lashed out at each other repeatedly over the year-end tax and budget impasse known as the fiscal cliff.
While both sides expressed hard feelings and frustration, it might just have been normal, as the Congress rarely starts negotiating until time is just about to run out - and at this point - there's still four weeks to go until the year end deadline.
Four weeks is forever. It wouldn't shock me if we don't get down to real negotiating until around December hits double digits on the calendar.
So, will this week be any different?
It's hard to say, though I found one thing very interesting on the schedule of the House of Representatives - instead of sticking around all week, members will be going home on Wednesday afternoon.
That decision might just clear the halls of rank and file lawmakers and thereby allow leaders of both parties to get down to some real efforts to broker a deal.
My guess would be more finger pointing this week, and then by next late in the week or early next week, both sides will grudgingly start getting down to business.
In other words, never underestimate the ability of a politician to say one thing in public, take almost all the time until a major deadline and then agree to something a bit different behind closed doors.
As of now, the two sides are trying to paint the other as intransigent.
The first White House offer from last week was met with a firestorm of criticism from Republicans; Democrats meanwhile also blasted the GOP for not putting a detailed plan on the table.
Now, how about some more fiscal cliff numbers.
If things really go badly and there is no deal - in other words, all of the Bush-era tax rates and tax cuts of 2001 and 2003 revert back to where they were in the Clinton Administration - it is estimated that would bring in between $3-$3.7 trillion in extra tax revenues over ten years.
Add in the $1.2 trillion in automatic spending "cuts" (see my previous blogs about that word) and you have almost $5 trillion in extra budget wiggle room (savings) over 10 years.
Again, that would be the financial situation if Congress did nothing and those laws stayed in place for ten years, a somewhat unlikely scenario in the long term.
If you allowed the Bush tax rates and tax cuts to expire for those making over $250,000 per family and $200,000 per individual (a major part of the Obama plan), that would bring in $823 billion over 10 years, plus $127 billion in estimated interest savings on the federal debt, for $950 billion over 10 years.
Overall, the President's offer from last week would bring in $1.6 billion in new tax revenues; Republicans have said they would be okay with $800 billion, but only if it is accompanied by corporate and individual tax reform.
The White House plan would call for those tax increases to go into effect immediately, then the Congress would work in 2013 on tax reform, with a deadline of August 1 to get that finished.
As a reporter, it would be nice to get all kinds of details this week on exactly what both sides want to do, but I sort of doubt we will see that fine print until the final deal is posted on the internet.
If there even is a final deal.
So, if you think all these wacky politicians are just fiddling while Rome burns, their recent actions might really be part of their game plan.
