But battle lines were drawn earlier on Friday, as Speaker Boehner restated his party's opposition to tax increases.

BBC: Obama demands tax rises for rich over fiscal cliff

Now we watch in horrified fascination as a speaker plods through every word on slide after slide with 20 lines or more of text on them.

FORBES: Power Point And The Triangle Of Death - A Rant

In the House, Speaker John Boehner referred to two GOP-authored bills the chamber passed last Congress on partisan lines to replace the now-imminent spending cuts.

CNN: Countdown to spending cuts: A matter of hours