Obama was supposed to decide whether he would run for president over the holidays, but he has put off a final decision for a few weeks, according to ABC7’s Andy Shaw, who scored an exclusive interview with Obama yesterday.

Senator Barack Obama said that he has decided to take a few more weeks to make sure that all the i’s are dotted, t’s are crossed, his family is onboard and his gut still says go. Then, assuming all that stays as is, he will soon announce formation of an exploratory committee, which is the first step on the long presidential campaign road.

“We’re still taking a look at it. As soon as I have news to make, you’ll be the first to know,” Obama said.

Senator Obama is back in Washington, D.C., after a family vacation in Hawaii, to finalize his plan to run for president, which is tentatively set to begin with an announcement in the next month that he is forming an exploratory committee so he can start raising money and put a campaign together.

“Until you are actually out there and running, you’re not running. The rest of it is speculation and gossip,” said Obama.

Meanwhile, Washington Post staff reporter Lois Romano finally got around to reading Obama’s first book, published 11 years ago, and realized that he had (gasp!) admitted to drug use.

Obama’s revelations were not an issue during his Senate campaign two years ago. But now his open narrative of early, bad choices, including drug use starting in high school and ending in college, as well as his tortured search for racial identity, are sure to receive new scrutiny.

Lynn Sweet offers up some analysis.

Running for president puts Obama under a microscope. Just because he admitted using drugs does not put the subject off limits for revisiting. How he answers inevitable further questions could become grist for critics.

Because of the Post, Obama won’t be able to get away with dismissing questions about drugs as an “old story,” a common damage-control tactic.

Even a wisecrack could look different in this new light.

Obama, guesting last month on “The Tonight Show with Jay Leno” was asked by Leno about taking drugs.

“Remember, senator, you are under oath. Did you inhale?” Leno asked.

Replied Obama, “That was the point.”

Critics could ask why Obama did not add a cautionary “Just Say No” message for impressionable youths.

Also, for you “What about his record?” types who pervade the comment section of just about every blog, WaPo did a piece comparing the voting histories of Hillary Clinton and Obama

*** UPDATE *** Daley tossed in his two cents today.

Mayor Richard M. Daley says past drug use should not be an issue in the 2008 presidential campaign. […]

Mayor Daley says drugs have been a problem in all segments of American society for years, and he’s seen many people who’ve recovered from drug use and rebuilt their lives.

Daley says people understand that and “it should not be an issue at all.”