How the Budget Deal Got Done

Apparently, there was some lightheartedness in all the muck.

In one of the White House meetings, a light moment occurred when the negotiators began focusing on the dozens of policy restrictions that Republicans wanted to include.

According to White House aides, Nabors had an assistant make photocopies of the long list of provisions, which ended up taking time. Boehner joked about the White House needing faster copying machines, and Obama said the copies were being mimeographed, an ancient copying technology.

A key point came Thursday night, according to the Senate Democratic staffer and White House aides.

The two sides were moving closer to agreement on the amount of spending cuts but Republicans were insisting on including curbs on federal funds for family planning programs - a demand that Democrats were just as adamantly opposing.

It was in those conversations, the Democratic aide said, that Obama and Reid said Democrats would not agree to the family planning restrictions, with the president himself saying it would not be included in any final deal. At one point, according to White House aides, Vice President Joe Biden flashed anger over the GOP's insistence on family planning restrictions. Read it all -- it's very interesting -- at AP