The President digs in on tax cuts and the markets take notice

The index fell 185 points Wednesday on fears that no deal may be reached before we go over the fiscal cliff – the combination of looming spending cuts and expiring tax cuts.

Stocks fall 1% on Mideast flare-up, fiscal cliff

The Dow was down only 83 points before President Barack Obama made clear in a news conference today that some things are not up for negotiation:

"I think that there loopholes that can be closed, and we should look at how we can make process of deduction, the filing process easier, simpler. But when it comes to top 2%, what I'm not going to do is extend further a tax cut for folks who don't need it that would cost close to a trillion dollars," said President Obama.

Obama's opening bid on taxes

So are investors right to be nervous today?

OutFront tonight: Republican Strategist Hogan Gidley and Democratic Strategist Maria Cardona.