Fire Valerie Jarrett . . . We’re at that point in an already long-toothed presidency when things inside really need to change. In the days before anyone knew how brutally the Democrats would get beaten, politicians and staffers and pundits were urging a shakeup of the White House staff . . .

"On balance it appears that Jarrett has been more an obstructer than a facilitator over the past six years when it comes to governing, and it’s probably long past time for the president to move her gently into another role." Politico Magazine

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Obama rebuffs GOP demands not to act . . . Obama said on Face the Nation that he will issue an order easing the threat against deportation for immigrants in the country illegally despite warnings from Republican leaders that he would be poisoning the well with a newly elected GOP-controlled Congress. Associated Press

Obama takes some responsibility for the loss . . . Obama said the buck ultimately stops with him during an interview with CBS's "Face the Nation," his first Sunday show appearance since September. "And so whenever, as the head of the party, it doesn't do well, I've got to take responsibility for it," Obama said. "The message that I took from this election, and we've seen this in a number of elections, successive elections, is people want to see this city work." The Hill

VA Secretary to announce major overhaul . . . The Secretary of Veterans Affairs will announce Monday a massive restructuring of the department in the wake of a scandal that left more than a hundred thousand veterans waiting for health care. At least 35 people will be initially fired -- and more than 1,000 could soon follow. Examiner

Officials scramble to finish ACA website backup . . . The Obama administration is expressing confidence that HealthCare.gov is no longer the rickety online insurance marketplace that exasperated consumers a year ago. Behind the scenes, however, federal health officials and government contractors are scrambling. Washington Post

Obamacare creator: The "stupidity of Americans" . . . Obamacare architect Jonathan Gruber said that lack of transparency was a major part of getting Obamacare passed because “the stupidity of the American voter” would have killed the law if more people knew what was in it. Daily Caller

Holder to critics: "Kiss my ass" . . . Newly released emails show Attorney General Eric Holder said that Justice Department prosecutors who were critical of the department’s handling of the fallout of the Fast and Furious gun-walking scandal could “kiss my ass.” Washington Times

Psaki blames Israel for Gaza Civilian casualties . . . State Department spokeswoman Jen Psaki today grumbled that Israel did not doing enough to protect Gaza civilians. Her statement contradicted remarks Thursday by Joint Chiefs Chairman Martin Dempsey, who knows a bit more about war than Psaki and said Israel went to “extraordinary lengths” to limit casualties. White House Dossier

Liberal groups send lists of demands . . . Dozens of liberal-leaning groups are lining up to demand President Obama take executive action on a wide range of regulations and reforms that have no chance of passing a Republican-led Congress next year. Examiner

Obama silences Biden attempt to negotiate . . . It appears that Vice President Biden went straying off the reservation during the meeting Friday with bipartisan Congressional leaders, and President Obama jerked him right back on. White House Dossier

Report: ISIS leader may be "Critically wounded" . . . The US-led coalition against Isis has carried out a bomb attack on a convoy of senior militants that may have included the group's leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi. The Independent

The administration's ISIS Crisis . . . Problems with the war have been compounded by a lack of senior officials with deep expertise in Iraq and Syria and by a policymaking process hounded by rivalries and unclear leadership. Kerry’s State Department has clashed with the Pentagon, Congress is complaining about not being consulted – and officials say there’s no clear very senior owner of the war in the White House since the president finally made the call to embark on it. Politico​



Suicide bomber kills 48 students in Nigeria . . . A suicide bomber disguised in a school uniform detonated explosives at a high school assembly in the northeastern Nigerian city of Potiskum on Monday, killing at least 48 students, according to survivors and a morgue attendant. Associated Press​



Secret Reagan tapes revealed . . . President Ronald Reagan secretly recorded some of his conversations with foreign leaders, discovered author William Doyle. “Until now, taping was thought to have stopped in the Nixon era. I discovered that was not the case,” Doyle said. New York Post​

Attkisson: CBS withheld clip to help Obama . . . Former CBS News investigative reporter Sharyl Attkisson says CBS News executives kept a clip of President Obama refusing to call the Benghazi attacks terrorism secret until after the election in order to help Obama's re-election. Newsmax

Michael Brown's mom allegedly part of assault mob . . .   The late teen’s mother, Lesley McSpadden, is said to have been one of the “attackers” who physically assaulted and robbed merchandise from a tent in a parking lot in Ferguson, Missouri. Breitbart

Liberal compassion on trials . . . In Pity Party: A Mean-Spirited Diatribe Against Liberal Compassion, William Voegeli takes a careful look at the principles of care and kindness that are at the heart of modern liberalism’s self-conception. In a straightforward style, he picks apart the relationship between liberals and empathy.

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Keith Koffler
Editor
White House Dossier