Beebe returns from 'fiscal cliff' talks with Obama

Gov. Mike Beebe speaks Wednesday in his conference room at the state Capitol.
Gov. Mike Beebe speaks Wednesday in his conference room at the state Capitol.

— Gov. Mike Beebe says a meeting in Washington with a group of fellow governors and President Barack Obama hasn't changed his outlook on the likelihood of a compromise that would avert the "fiscal cliff."

"I didn't come away with any different feeling about the likelihood of parties coming together than I had before I went up there," he said Wednesday. "What I did come away with was a little bit of optimism that you can get disparate governors ... with different concerns to be able to at least come to a consensus they can all agree on. If we can do that ... we hoped that that would provide an example for the folks in D.C. to come together."

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Beebe and five other governors representing the National Governors Association met with Obama, Vice President Joe Biden and other officials Tuesday in the White House.

Beebe said the governors stressed that states don't want cuts in any deal to "disproportionately" affect the states.

"We're not going to be hypocritical and say cut everybody else and leave us alone," he said. "We're willing to do our part on the state level."

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