U.S. President Barack Obama, center, speaks as Department of the Interior Secretary Kenneth L. Salazar, from left, Department of State Secretary Hillary Clinton, and Department of Defense Secretary Leon E. Panetta listen at a cabinet meeting at the White House on November 28, 2012 in Washington, D.C. The president met yesterday with small business owners and today with the chief executives of major corporations in ongoing talks about the looming fiscal cliff. UPI/T.J. Kirkpatrick/Pool