WASHINGTON--President Obama said that White House chief Rahm Emanuel needs to make "a decision quickly" about running for mayor of Chicago. All signs point to Emanuel leaving the White House in a few weeks to run---but he has yet to make it official.

In an interview with NBC's Matt Lauer on "The Today Show," Obama said, "Well, I think that Rahm will have to make a decision quickly, because running for mayor of Chicago is a serious enterprise. And I know this is something he's thinking about."

Asked if he would endorse Emanuel for mayor, Obama reminded Lauer that he already said Emanuel would make "an excellent mayor. But until he makes a decision, I'm not going to be making decisions about how I'm going to approach it."

Emanuel is the only Chicago mayoral contender who has been mute--totally--not a word on the record--about his thoughts on running for mayor. What we know--on the record--has been channeled through third parties who have talked to Emanuel such as White House senior advisor David Axelrod, Rep. Danny Davis, Rep. Mike Quigley and others.