High-level negotiations between the White House and Capitol Hill in times of divided government tend to follow a script. This year’s talks about how to avert the fiscal cliff, for the most part, appear to track a familiar line: The outside message from the top players is often different from what's happening on a parallel track inside the room where the final deal is being crafted. Publicly, both President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner continue to argue their positions on taxes and entitlement reforms, hoping they can win the public relations battle that frames their respective party as...