Who delivered the 'blow' to optimism about fiscal cliff?

Washington Post:

House Speaker John A. Boehner delivered a blow Thursday to the optimism that Washington leaders have been showing over negotiations on the fiscal cliff, saying that there’s been “no substantive progress” in attempts to reach a deal and that “the White House has to get serious” on entitlement spending.

At a press conference after meeting with Treasury Secretary Timothy F. Geithner and White House legislative affairs chief Rob Nabors, Boehner said that the meeting and a call with President Obama on Wednesday evening left him believing Democrats are not willing to rein in spending on entitlements as part of the deal.

“The White House has to get serious,” he told reporters, adding, “We have no idea what the White House has been willing to do.”

Boehner called the meeting and phone call “frank and direct” but added that “no substantive progress has been made” to avert the automatic spending cuts and tax hikes set to take effect Jan. 1.

Financial markets, which have been betting that a deal was at hand in recent days, began a downward dive as Boehner spoke.

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Negotiations had bogged down on Wednesday with a dispute over how to tackle the soaring cost of federal retirement programs emerging as the latest roadblock to progress.

Democrats complained that Republicans have yet to name their price for enacting legislation that would preserve tax cuts for the vast majority of Americans next year while raising revenue from the wealthiest 2 percent.

Republicans, meanwhile, insisted that it is up to the president to offer a plan to restrain the cost of Medicare, Medicaid and Social Security — the government’s biggest and fastest-growing programs — in exchange for GOP concessions on taxes.

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I find the wording of the lead indicative of how the liberals in the media try to cast the Republicans as responsible for the Democrats failure to present a plan to control the cost of entitlement programs.