White House

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Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell (right), accompanied by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (left) and House Speaker John A. Boehner, gestures as he speaks to reporters outside the White House in Washington on Friday, Nov. 16, 2012. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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Former White House Chief of Staff Erskine Bowles, co-chair of the National Commission on Fiscal Responsibility and Reform, is pursued by reporters on Capitol Hill in Washington on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012, following a closed-door meeting with House Speaker John A. Boehner, Ohio Republican. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

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With the presidential seal in the background, President Obama pauses in the Eisenhower Executive Office Building on the White House campus in Washington on Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012, where he spoke about how middle-class Americans would see their taxes go up if Congress fails to act to extend tax cuts. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

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Marriott CEO Arne Sorenson leaves the White House after a meeting of business leaders with President Obama and Vice President Joe Biden, in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. (AP Photo/Jacquelyn Martin)

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First lady Michelle Obama decorates a lollipop during a holiday decoration preview at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. Obama joined children as they decorated holiday treats during a preview of the White House holiday decorations. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

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First lady Michelle Obama walks up to the microphone to speaks in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012, to welcome military families during a preview of the White House holiday decorations. The theme for the White House Christmas 2012 is Joy to All. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

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White House Pastry Chef Bill Yosses explains his design for the nearly 300-pound gingerbread house of the White House, on display in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. The house features Bo, the Obama family dog, left, a vegetable garden and views inside the White House. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

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The official White House Christmas tree, an 18-foot-6-inch Frasier fur from Jefferson, N.C., trimmed with ornaments decorated by children of military families, sits in the Blue Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012, during a preview of the White House holiday decorations. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

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First lady Michelle Obama, accompanied by first dog Bo, walks past reporters during a visit to the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012, during a preview of the White House holiday decorations. The theme for the White House Christmas 2012 is Joy to All. School children were also in the State Dining Room decorating holiday treats. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

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The White House vegetable garden is replicated as part of the nearly 300-pound gingerbread house of the White House, on display in the State Dining Room of the White House in Washington. The White House gingerbread house has been a tradition since the 1960s. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

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First lady Michelle Obama gives a thumbs up to those who decorated the White House as she speaks to military families in the East Room of the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. The theme for the White House Christmas 2012 is Joy to All. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)

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** File ** First lady Michelle Obama shows the lollipop she decorated during a holiday decoration preview at the White House in Washington, Wednesday, Nov. 28, 2012. (Associated Press)

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** FILE ** In this Nov. 27, 2012, file photo, President Obama meets with Mexican President-elect Enrique Pena Nieto in the White House, setting the stage for boosting relations between the nations. (Associated Press)

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FILE - In this Nov. 21, 2012, file photo, President Barack Obama speaks about the Thanksgiving holiday in the Rose Garden of the White House in Washington. The White House said Tuesday, Nov. 27, that the president plans to make a public case this week for his strategy for dealing with the looming fiscal cliff, traveling to the Philadelphia suburbs Friday as he pressures Republicans to allow tax increases on the wealthy while extending tax cuts for families earning $250,000 or less. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite, File)