(Image source: Wikimedia Commons )     BY ZACH TOOMBS     23 days since their last face-to-face meet up and 23 days before reaching the so-called “fiscal cliff,” President Barack Obama and House Speaker John Boehner spoke behind closed doors Sunday at the White House about how to find common ground on a deficit reduction deal.   This marks the first meeting between the two parties’ top negotiators since Nov. 16. The talk was a surprise to the press — appearing on neither man’s agenda, and no details on the discussion have been disclosed. But offices for both Boehner and the president did release a very short statement with identical language. [Video: Bloomberg ]   Per Politico , it says:   “This afternoon, the President and Speaker Boehner met at the White House to discuss efforts to resolve the fiscal cliff. We’re not reading out details of the conversation, but the lines of communication remain open.”   Just last Friday, Boehner expressed some frustration with the lack of conversation about the fiscal cliff, saying there had been no progress made at all to avert the $600 billion in tax hikes and spending cuts Jan. 1 will bring without an agreement. But CNN’s David Gergen says this meeting is a good sign.   “They did it in private, instead of all the political theater we’ve been seeing over the last couple weeks. I think that’s encouraging. But Don, we should be patient here. We won’t know probably until tomorrow whether they made any progress or not. There’ll be leaks, I’m sure.”   For Democrats, the deal hinges on higher taxes for the top two percent of earners and bringing in $1.6 trillion in new revenue.   The latest plan put forward by Boehner suggests $800 billion in new taxes, but a handful of GOP senators say they’re open to giving up some ground on that. [Video: YouTube ]   Here’s Republican Tom Coburn on  ABC’s This Week .   "Will I accept a tax increase as a part of a deal to actually solve our problems? Yes … Because if we don’t put a credible plan on the discussion, ultimately, we all lose.”   Despite those hints of compromise in the Senate, it’s the Republican-ruled House that’s more likely to hold up a deal with higher taxes for top earners. Without a deal, automatic tax hikes and spending cuts go into effect Jan. 1.