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| Focus on Petraeus and Taxes as Obama Faces Media | Focus on Petraeus and Taxes as Obama Faces Media |
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| WASHINGTON — Finally, President Obama is holding a news conference. | WASHINGTON — Finally, President Obama is holding a news conference. |
| The last time the president stepped on a podium for an official press conference was in June, at the Group of 20 economic summit in Los Cabos, Mexico. And even then, he took only three, leaving the press assembled before him grumbling that even Vladimir V. Putin, the Russian president, had answered more queries from journalists at the meeting. | |
| Mr. Obama will presumably take more than three questions this time when he shows up in the East Room of the White House — the scheduled time is 1:30 p.m. Wednesday — now that he has won re-election. And reporters have been storing them up for five months, so there should be a broad array of topics. | Mr. Obama will presumably take more than three questions this time when he shows up in the East Room of the White House — the scheduled time is 1:30 p.m. Wednesday — now that he has won re-election. And reporters have been storing them up for five months, so there should be a broad array of topics. |
| Topping the list of subjects likely will be the affair that has upended the C.I.A. career of David H. Petraeus and is now threatening the career of Gen. John R. Allen, the commander of the war effort in Afghanistan. | Topping the list of subjects likely will be the affair that has upended the C.I.A. career of David H. Petraeus and is now threatening the career of Gen. John R. Allen, the commander of the war effort in Afghanistan. |
| But it is hard to imagine how much the president will be able to add to the bizarre tale that has emerged; Mr. Obama, White House officials say, did not learn of the affair until after the election. Still, the president is likely to come under questioning about why the F.B.I. started an investigation, and what he knows about General Allen’s role in the mess. | But it is hard to imagine how much the president will be able to add to the bizarre tale that has emerged; Mr. Obama, White House officials say, did not learn of the affair until after the election. Still, the president is likely to come under questioning about why the F.B.I. started an investigation, and what he knows about General Allen’s role in the mess. |
| The president is also likely to be asked about the attack on the American diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11. While Mr. Obama addressed the issue during the second debate with Mitt Romney, he has not had a news conference since before the attacks, so the reporters who cover him have not had a chance to engage in a public back-and-forth on the issue. | The president is also likely to be asked about the attack on the American diplomatic mission in Benghazi, Libya, on Sept. 11. While Mr. Obama addressed the issue during the second debate with Mitt Romney, he has not had a news conference since before the attacks, so the reporters who cover him have not had a chance to engage in a public back-and-forth on the issue. |
| Also likely is a focus on the debt negotiations with Congress that will soon be gathering steam, although asking Mr. Obama about that may just give him more space to repeat what he said last week — that he wants to see tax increases on the wealthy, and that he believes that exit polling shows that most Americans agree with him. | Also likely is a focus on the debt negotiations with Congress that will soon be gathering steam, although asking Mr. Obama about that may just give him more space to repeat what he said last week — that he wants to see tax increases on the wealthy, and that he believes that exit polling shows that most Americans agree with him. |
| Though the president’s spokesman reaffirmed his $1.6 trillion target for new revenues on Tuesday, while Mr. Obama reassured progressives and labor leaders that he would stand firm against Congressional Republicans on tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, expect plenty of questions about the “fiscal cliff.” | Though the president’s spokesman reaffirmed his $1.6 trillion target for new revenues on Tuesday, while Mr. Obama reassured progressives and labor leaders that he would stand firm against Congressional Republicans on tax cuts for the wealthiest Americans, expect plenty of questions about the “fiscal cliff.” |
| After the news conference, Mr. Obama is scheduled to meet with about a dozen chief executives at the White House as part of his effort to get both business and labor to support raising around $1.6 trillion in new revenues, largely through taxes on business and the wealthy. Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, has said that increased revenue, when combined with $1.1 trillion in spending cuts that have already been signed into law and additional savings from Medicare and Medicaid, would reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over 10 years. | After the news conference, Mr. Obama is scheduled to meet with about a dozen chief executives at the White House as part of his effort to get both business and labor to support raising around $1.6 trillion in new revenues, largely through taxes on business and the wealthy. Jay Carney, the White House press secretary, has said that increased revenue, when combined with $1.1 trillion in spending cuts that have already been signed into law and additional savings from Medicare and Medicaid, would reduce the deficit by $4 trillion over 10 years. |