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The Real Reason Republicans Hate Hagel — It has more to do with President Obama than the former senator from Nebraska. — It's good news that President Obama will nominate Chuck Hagel as his secretary of defense, despite the frantic campaign against him that's been mounted by certain Republicans.
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Exclusive: Hagel says critics distort his views on Israel, Iran — Chuck Hagel said Monday an accurate assessment of his record will demonstrate “unequivocal, total support for Israel” and endorsement of tough international economic sanctions against Iran. — Critics have “completely distorted” …


FLASHBACK: Bill Kristol Wanted Chuck Hagel To Be Vice President — The lead-up to today's nomination of former GOP senator from Nebraska Chuck Hagel to be the next Secretary of Defense has been marked by an aggressive smear campaign by neoconservatives determined to scuttle the bid.
Discussion:
Talking Points Memo, msnbc.com, Salon, The Maddow Blog and Little Green Footballs

Why Hagel Matters — According to various reports, Obama will nominate Chuck Hagel for defense secretary. Beinart puts the nomination in context: … To my mind, this is his core qualification. Unlike so many of the lemmings and partisans of Washington DC, Hagel actually called out the catastrophe of the Iraq War as it happened.


Ed Koch on Chuck Hagel Nomination: Obama's Reneging on His Conveyed Support for Israel Has Come Earlier Than I Thought — Chuck Hagel in Kuwait. — In an interview with The Algemeiner, former Mayor of New York, Ed Koch, a lifelong Democrat who supported President Obama's recent re-election …
Discussion:
Foreign Policy, Washington Free Beacon, Israel Matzav, National Review and The PJ Tatler

Hagel must address ‘Jewish lobby’ comment — I believe a president — Republican or Democrat — almost always deserves to have the Cabinet that he wishes, with the bar very, very high to oppose his choice. Thus, there should be heavy presumption that President Obama's reported nominee …
Discussion:
Daily Dot and Firedoglake

Hagel the Kyoto-Slayer — So far most of the critical discussion about Chuck Hagel for SecDef is that he said mean things about homosexuals, or is hostile to Israel, if not in fact anti-Semitic. So far I'm curious that people on the Left in particular are forgetting Hagel's key role …


Bill Kristol's big plans start with Hagel nomination — In the weeks since Election Day — as Mitt Romney faded into obscurity, John Boehner lost control of the House GOP and tea partiers turned on one another — Bill Kristol has been busy charting the future of the Republican Party.
Discussion:
CNN, New York Times, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos and msnbc.com


Dick Cheney Apparently Didn't Mind The Term “Jewish Lobby”
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Weekly Standard

Why Hagel Matters — If the former senator is confirmed …
Discussion:
NationalJournal.com, Crooks and Liars, Washington Monthly, Weasel Zippers, AEIdeas, CNN, No More Mister Nice Blog and ThinkProgress

Still a potent gay rights voice, Barney Frank dials back opposition to Chuck Hagel nomination

Why Chuck Hagel Should Be Secretary of Defense
Discussion:
Mother Jones, Advocate, CNN, Texas on the Potomac, Towleroad News #gay, The Daily Dish, ABCNEWS, Politico, The Daily Caller and ABCNEWS

AIPAC's Uncertain Role in the Upcoming Hagel Nomination
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Business Insider, News Desk, The Daily Caller, Hot Air and The Back Channel

Hagel for Secretary of Defense
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, AMERICAblog and The Democratic Daily

Critics slam Chuck Hagel's likely nomination as Defense secretary
Discussion:
Business Insider, The Fix, The Week, The Atlantic Online and The Reaction

White House officials reach out to Jewish community to answer Hagel concerns
Discussion:
Politico, The Hinterland Gazette, Business Insider, ABCNEWS, JustOneMinute and Israel Matzav

Obama Taps ‘Patriot’ Hagel for Defense
Discussion:
CNN, ABCNEWS, NationalJournal.com, Politico, Guardian, The Week and Ricochet Conversations Feed

How The White House Is Selling Chuck Hagel
Discussion:
The Page and Post Politics

Be Ready To Mint That Coin — Should President Obama be willing to print a $1 trillion platinum coin if Republicans try to force America into default? Yes, absolutely. He will, after all, be faced with a choice between two alternatives: one that's silly but benign, the other that's equally silly but both vile and disastrous.
Discussion:
JustOneMinute, MarketWatch, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Hot Air, Angry Bear, Truthdig, Via Meadia, Mother Jones, Business Insider, The Week, Wonkblog, The Plum Line, Daily Kos, Vodkapundit, The Informer, Economist's View, Marginal Revolution, Althouse, Gawker, Capital New York, Post Politics and The Hill
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Why Platinum Coin Opponents Are All Wrong — This morning, Joe Weisenthal and I took our message in favor of minting a trillion-dollar platinum coin to “Bloomberg Surveillance,” where we were met with the usual shock and horror from hosts Tom Keene and Sara Eisen.
Discussion:
Quartz, Free exchange, The Plum Line, Balloon Juice and Business Insider


Hillary Clinton back at work - with a football helmet — Hillary Clinton went back to work as secretary of state this morning and was greeted by colleagues showing off their sense of humor. — First off, we got the official State Department photo of her hosting the weekly meeting of assistant secretaries of state.
Discussion:
Mediaite, MyFOX8.com, The Immoral Minority, Sense of Events, Joe. My. God. and Towleroad News #gay


Obama Viewed as Fiscal Cliff Victor; Legislation Gets Lukewarm Reception — OVERVIEW — Barack Obama is viewed as the clear political winner in the fiscal cliff negotiations, but the legislation itself gets only a lukewarm reception from the public: As many disapprove as approve …
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CNN, Firedoglake, Daily Kos, The Hill and Texas on the Potomac

Politico Lays Off Staffers Amid Restructuring … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Jim VandeHei, John Harris, Dave Catanese, Jay Westcott, Jess Kamen, Politico, Politico Cult, Politico Cutbacks, Politico Layoffs, Calderone: The Backstory, Media News — Editor-in-chief John Harris and executive editor Jim VandeHei
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Mediaite, more at Mediagazer »


Mexican Restaurant In South Carolina Under Fire For Racist ‘How To Catch An Illegal Immigrant’ T-Shirt — A Mexican restaurant in Columbia, South Carolina is being criticized for its racist T-shirts showing a wooden trap using tacos as bait with the caption “HOW TO CATCH AN ILLEGAL IMMIGRANT”.
Discussion:
Mediaite, Gawker and The Raw Story


John Brennan's extremism and dishonesty rewarded with CIA Director nomination | Glenn Greenwald — Obama's top terrorism adviser goes from unconfirmable in 2008 to uncontroversial in 2013, reflecting the Obama legacy — (updated below - Update II) — Prior to President Obama's …

After Pinpointing Gun Owners, Paper Is a Target — WHITE PLAINS — Local newspapers across the country look for stories that will bring them national attention, but The Journal News, a daily nestled in a wooded office park in a suburb north of New York, may have gotten more than it bargained for.


Crowd laughs as Chicago Teachers Union president talks about killing the rich — CHICAGO - The Chicago Teachers Union is not just about looking out for its members' interests. The union wants to fundamentally change America, too. — That shift occurred when the radical Karen Lewis was elected as its president two years ago.
Discussion:
Michelle Malkin, FreedomWorks, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit


The conservative movement is still an elaborate moneymaking venture — The story of FreedomWorks' big Glenn Beck payout encapsulates the right-wing media — The conservative media movement exists primarily as a moneymaking venture. As Rick Perlstein explained in the Baffler …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, Liberal Values, Lawyers, Guns & Money, The Impolitic and The Immoral Minority

The Outside Man — Yes, I've heard about the notion that I should be nominated as Treasury Secretary. I'm flattered, but it really is a bad idea. — Part of the reason is that I am indeed the World's Worst Administrator — and that does matter. Someone else can do the paperwork …
Discussion:
The Plum Line, Politico, Ballot Box, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, The Daily Caller, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, The Week, Weekly Standard and Economist's View

Joe Arpaio Dispatches Armed Volunteer Posses To Begin School Patrols … REACT: — FOLLOW: — Arizona Politics, Video, Maricopa County, Arizona, Arpaio School Patrols, Joe Arpaio Armed Posse, Joe Arpaio School Patrols, Joe Arpaio Schools, Politics News
Discussion:
Joe. My. God.


Huell Howser, California TV Legend, Passes Away :-( — Huell Howser—a California broadcasting legend for his various shows that have appeared on public broadcasting over the past couple of decades—has passed away, according to sources who spoke to the Weekly on condition of anonymity.
Discussion:
Hit & Run and The Informer

Rick Perry for president? Legislative session gives him chance to burnish credentials — The legislative session that opens Tuesday will give Gov. Rick Perry a chance to burnish his credentials if he chooses to make another run for president in 2016. — But some are hard-pressed to imagine …
Discussion:
Ricochet Conversations Feed and Politico