Joe Biden today:

"There are executive orders, executive action that can be taken. We haven't decided what that is yet," Biden said, adding that Obama is conferring with Attorney General Eric Holder on potential action.

Counterterrorism chief John Brennan is President Obama's choice for director of the Central Intelligence Agency. Also as expected, he nominated Republican Chuck Hagel for Defense Secretary.

As for Brennan,

Mr. Brennan has played a central role in Mr. Obama's most critical and controversial counterterrorism and security policies. He has been a chief driver of Mr. Obama's acceleration of the CIA's drone program and its expansion into Yemen. He also has been central in navigating the politics surrounding the administration's inability to close the U.S. prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba.

Mr. Brennan also has served as an emissary to Yemeni officials to manage counterterrorism operations there and in Somalia and has helped steer white House security policy in response to the Arab Spring. [More...}

President Obama is about to speak, addressing the fiscal cliff. You can watch here.

Preventing a middle class tax hike has been his top priority. An agreement is within sight. But it's not done. Issues remain. He's hopeful Congress can get it done.

The agreement would extend tax credits for families with kids, extend tuition and clean energy tax credits and unemployment benefits. He would have liked a grand bargain, a bigger deal, that deals with taxes and spending. But, that was too much to hope for with this Congress. So it will take several steps.[More...]

President Obama just gave a press conference on the fiscal cliff. He says we need to find some common ground. He's met Republicans half-way.

"This is something within our capacity to solve....Call me a hopeless optimist, but I still think we can get this done."

He wishes everyone Merry Christmas and because Congress didn't get this done, he'll see us next week.

The first question from the media was about the NRA. (Then the video cut off.)

President Obama has announced that John Kerry will be his next Secretary of State.

He is expected to take office in January. Hillary is recovering from a concussion and the flu.

President Obama has named Joe Biden to lead a new task force on gun violence.

Obama said Wednesday that he supports the Second Amendment, which guarantees the right to bear arms, and highlighted the nation’s strong tradition of gun ownership. Yet, he said, the country’s leaders need to find ways to keep “weapons of war” out of the hands of the irresponsible few.

“There is a big chunk of space between what the Second Amendment means and having no rules at all, and that space is what Joe’s going to be working on to try to identify where we’ll find some common ground,” Obama said.

[More...]

Susan Rice will not be the next Secretary of State. She has tendered a letter to Obama asking that her name be withdrawn from consideration.

Her withdrawal leaves Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.) as the leading candidate for the job. A senior administration official said “something strange would have to happen” for Kerry not to be the choice.

CIA Director David Petraeus has resigned after the FBI (apparently inadvertently) discovered he is engaged in an extra-marital affair. From his resignation letter:

“After being married for over 37 years, I showed extremely poor judgment by engaging in an extramarital affair,” Mr. Petraeus said in his statement, expressing regret for his abrupt departure. “Such behavior is unacceptable, both as a husband and as the leader of an organization such as ours. This afternoon, the president graciously accepted my resignation.”

Why does an extra-marital affair compromise his position as CIA Director?

By acknowledging an extramarital affair, Mr. Petraeus, 60, was confronting a sensitive issue for a spy chief. Intelligence agencies are often concerned about the possibility that agents who engage in such behavior could be blackmailed for information.

Doesn't sound like much of a reason to me. Is this really about his affair? [More...]

Politico reports on possible replacements for some of President Obama's cabinet officials who may be departing at the beginning of his second term.

Eric Holder today said during a speech at the Baltimore University School of Law that he hasn't decided if he's staying or not.

The possible replacements named by Politico include Homeland Security Chief Janet Napolitano. She's way too law and order for my taste, and I hope she doesn't replace Holder. Politico reports she may not want the job if she's going to run for McCain's senate seat in 2016, and the White House may be considering her for the Supreme Court.

Hillary has previously indicated she might leave. Who would replace her? Possibilities include Susan Rice and John Kerry.

Who would you like to see leave or come onboard?

President Obama is asking that the Bush Tax Cuts be extended for those making under $250,000 a year for one year.

Republicans want the tax cuts extended for everyone, including the wealthy.

President Obama, as is his custom, spent July 4th with military families, at a White House backyard barbecue, but he began the day presiding over a citizenship ceremony for 25 new citizens.

“Just as we remain a nation of laws, we have to remain a nation of immigrants,” Mr. Obama said. “And that’s why, as another step forward, we’re lifting the shadow of deportation from deserving young people who were brought to this country as children. It’s why we still need a Dream Act — to keep talented young people who want to contribute to our society and serve our country.

Immigration is another issue that sets him apart from Mitt Romney. I wonder how that issue polls in the swing-states that everyone says will determine the election in November. It's likely to help him in Colorado and Nevada, but what about the others? [More...]

Marc Ambinder's new article suggesting Obama will shift his position on the War on Drugs if he gets re-elected doesn't offer much.

Since the United Ststes isn't about to legalize or regulate the illegal narcotics markets, the best thing a president can do may be what Obama winds up doing if he gets re-elected: using the bully pulpit to draw attention to the issue. But he won't do so before November.

The article is more a review of the documentary The House I Live In, which I wrote about in January here than it is about Obama.

I have no expectations Obama will ease up on the War on Drugs. But since we know that Republicans will keep escalating it, as they will our over-reliance on incarceration, the choice in November on this issue is clear: Obama.