Obama: Ready to do 'tough things' for fiscal deal

(AP) President Barack Obama says he is prepared to do tough things for a fiscal cliff deal and says there is no reason for the talks to fail.

The president said he remains optimistic that a deal can be done, even though talks have reached a standstill.

Negotiations between the White House and Boehner's office on a deal to raise revenue and cut spending have stalled since House Speaker John Boehner decided to seek a vote in the House on a narrow bill that would raise taxes on taxpayers earning more than $1 million.

Obama has proposed raising the top tax rate for those earning more than $400,000 along with savings and spending cuts of $1.2 trillion.