Pro-gun Sen. Joe Manchin: Time to act  —  West Virginia Sen. Joe Manchin — who has an “A” rating from the NRA and is a lifetime member of the pro-gun rights group — said Monday that it was time to “move beyond rhetoric” on gun control.  —  “I just came with my family from deer hunting,” Manchin said on MSNBC's “Morning Joe.”

Tim Scott to Be Named for South Carolina Senate Seat, Republicans Say  —  Updated Gov. Nikki Haley of South Carolina has chosen Representative Tim Scott to replace Jim DeMint in the United States Senate, according to three Republican officials.  The move will make Mr. Scott the first black senator …

Dukakis seen as possible Senate replacement if Kerry tapped for State  —  Former Massachusetts Gov. Michael Dukakis, the 1988 Democratic presidential nominee, may be headed back to the political spotlight as he's considered a likely interim replacement for Sen. John Kerry (D-Mass.).

President Obama's speech at prayer vigil for Newtown shooting victims (Full transcript)  —  Full transcript of President Obama's remarks at a Dec. 16 prayer vigil for victims of the shooting at Sandy Hook Elementary School in Newtown, Conn.  —  OBAMA: Thank you.  —  Thank you, Governor.

Obama Expected to Name Kerry as Secretary of State  —  WASHINGTON — President Obama is leaning strongly toward naming John Kerry, the Massachusetts senator and unsuccessful Democratic nominee for president eight years ago, to succeed Hillary Rodham Clinton as secretary of state …

The GOP's Electoral College Scheme  —  Swanson Middle School, a polling place in Arlington, VA.  —  Republicans alarmed at the apparent challenges they face in winning the White House are preparing an all-out assault on the Electoral College system in critical states, an initiative …

Boehner offers to take debt limit off the table  —  House Speaker John A. Boehner has offered to push any fight over the federal debt limit off for a year, a concession that would deprive Republicans of leverage in the budget battle but is breathing new life into stalled talks over the year-end “fiscal cliff.”

In Town at Ease With Its Firearms, Tightening Gun Rules Was Resisted  —  People in the rural, hilly areas around Newtown, Conn., are used to gunfire.  In one woodsy stretch, southeast of downtown, the Pequot Fish and Game Club and the Fairfield County Fish and Game Protective Association …

POLITICO ebook: Plenty of 2012 pitfalls for Obama and Romney  —  President Barack Obama's stunningly bad performance at the first debate was no surprise to his closest advisers — Obama had stormed out of a debate prep session just days before the disaster in Denver.

Prosperity: US Drops Out of Top Ten  —  Via InstaPundit, we learn that for the first time, the United States does not rank as one of the world's ten most prosperous nations, as rated by London's Legatum Institute.  The authors of the report found that the U.S.'s slippage is being driven by …