They are 2 separate issues but since they both deal directly with the debt they may end up combined. The fiscal cliff refers to the the deal constructed in the summer of 2011 that was crafted by Obama and Boehner and approved in the Republican controlled house of Representatives and Senate to raise the debt ceiling limit in late summer 2011. This deal mandated certain tax spending programs to expire, Bush/Obama tax cuts to end and mandated pre-determined spending cuts to existing program spending with the military spending taking a significant hit. (the sequester)

The debt ceiling limitiation is fast approaching for Feb 2013 and could create conditions similar to the summer of 2011 when the fiscal cliff deal was originally created. The Dems want this included in any fiscal cliff deal and the Republicans don't for obvious reasons the primary one being if this is rolled into a deal they lose any leverage to actually get spending cuts in Washington for the time being.

History shows that if you agree to tax increases the spending cuts never come so only an idiot would agree to tax increases before cuts. The same happend in Canada in the mid-1990's when there were committments for 3 dollars of spending cuts for every dollar of tax increases but the end result was one dollar of tax increases for about one dollar of spending cuts (red book stuff). Politicians simply can't be entrusted with money as they constantly over promise and under deliver and this is the one constant in the debate no matter which side you support.