See how and why Washington is not functioning. Bob Woodward's freshly reported, thirty-five-page Afterword to his national bestseller, The Price of Politics , provides a detailed, often verbatim account of what happened in the dramatic ?fiscal cliff? face-off at the end of 2012 between President Obama and the Republicans. Now it's happening again. In fall 2013, Washington faces a new round of budget and fiscal wars that could derail the American and global economies. ?We are primarily a blocking majority,? said Michael Sommers, Speaker John Boehner's chief of staff, summarizing the House Republican position. It was the land of no-compromise: On health care cuts over ten years, Boehner suggested to Obama, you are $400 billion, I'm at $600 billion. ?Can we split the difference here? Can we land at $500 billion?? ?Four hundred billion is it,? Obama replied. ?I just can't see how we go any further on that.? After making $120 billion in other concessions, Obama pleaded with Boehner, ?What is it about the politics?? ?My guys just aren't there,? Boehner replied. ?We are $150 billion off, man. I don't get it. There's something I don't get.? The Price of Politics chronicles the inside story of how President Obama and the U.S. Congress tried, and failed, to restore