Washington (CNN) -- In the final hours before $85 billion in widely disliked spending cuts began to take effect Friday, top political leaders did virtually nothing to defuse Washington's latest self-imposed fiscal crisis. Democrats blamed Republicans, Republicans blamed Democrats, and both sides prepared for the next showdown -- a possible government shutdown on March 27. Here are the highlights of Friday's partisan skirmish: Last minute White House meeting achieves nothing President Barack Obama, Vice President Joe Biden, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell, House Speaker John Boehner, and House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi huddled behind closed doors for less than an hour Friday morning. As expected, the meeting didn't accomplish anything.
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NEW: A meeting between Obama and Hill leaders achieves nothing
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NEW: Obama says he can't do a "Jedi mind meld" to cut deal with GOP
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NEW: Boehner says the House will act next week to avoid a March 27 government shutdown
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$85 billion in spending cuts will take effect starting Friday
@placeholder insisted once again that the cuts could be avoided if only Republicans would compromise and agree to higher taxes on the rich.
"None of this is necessary," @placeholder told reporters after the meeting.