South Carolina Republican Sen. Jim DeMint said Thursday that he believes President Barack Obama will win his push to raise taxes on the wealthiest 2 percent.

"He's going to get his wish," DeMint said on "CBS This Morning." "We're going to be raising taxes."

DeMint also said that "the president's proposal clearly is not a plan, it's not a solution. It'll fund the government for a few days and we all realize it's a political trophy, it's not a solution."

If Washington lawmakers fail to reach a deal to avoid the "fiscal cliff," a majority of Americans will blame Democrats and Republicans equally, according to a new NBC/Wall Street Journal survey.

Fifty-six percent of adults surveyed Dec. 6-9 said Democrats, including President Barack Obama, and Republicans would be equally to blame if no deal is made to avoid the fiscal cliff-- the automatic spending cuts and tax increases set to go into effect Jan. 1. Twenty-four percent said Republicans will be more to blame and 19 percent pointed the finger at Democrats.

Those results differ from the response to a similar question posed one week earlier by The Washington Post and the Pew Research Center that suggested the public is more likely to blame Republicans in Congress for negotiating failures.

The new NBC/Wall Street Journal poll and the Post/Pew poll both showed that Americans still say they trust President Obama more than congressional Republicans to reach a deal.

And now it's 19 days before Washington drops off the "fiscal cliff," and, as many economists predict, takes the economy with it.

The White House and congressional calendars are very quiet Thursday in terms of scheduled, public talk about the fiscal cliff, which could mean things are getting done behind the scene. Or it could mean both sides are at a loss for how to find middle ground and strike a deal to avoid the tax increases and spending cuts scheduled to trigger on the first two days of 2013.

Speaker of the House John Boehner said Wednesday there still are some "serious differences" between the White House and Republican proposals.

The one thing scheduled for Thursday: House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi's press conference. The focus is bound to be the fiscal cliff.

And then, in the spirit of the holiday season, there is this on the White House calendar: President Obama speaks this evening at a Hanukkah reception at the White House. First lady Michelle Obama also will attend.