memeorandum: Obama picks Hagel for defense, Brennan for CIA (Reuters)

3:35 PM ET, January 7, 2013

Top Items:

Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:

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.

Discussion: Wired, Mondoweiss, Mother Jones, Hullabaloo and Firedoglake

Fred Kaplan / Slate:

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.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Politico, BuzzFeed, ABCNEWS, The Week, The Huffington Post, The Agonist, The Daily Dish, The Atlantic Online, Via Meadia, Right Turn, p m carpenter's commentary, Daniel W. Drezner and The Hill

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Crack Pipe — I'm watching a lot of neoconservative policy activists and a lot of people in the press telling me that it's a very up in the air thing whether Chuck Hagel gets confirmed as Secretary of Defense. These folks should stop smoking crack. Because crack isn't good for you.

Discussion: Guardian and Balloon Juice

Lee Enterprises / Lincoln Journal Star:

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” …

Discussion: Post Politics

Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn:

Topsy-turvy Hagel politics — President Obama wants to get credit for bipartisanship, so he picks a Republican defense secretary who will garner few if any Republican votes. He walks away from a politically loyal African American woman for secretary of state (whose nomination would open …

Discussion: Politico, NationalJournal.com, Power Line, Hot Air, RNC Research, Washington Free Beacon, Forbes and neo-neocon

Kevin Bohn / CNN:
White House officials reach out to Jewish community to answer Hagel concerns

Discussion: Politico, ABCNEWS, The Hinterland Gazette and Business Insider

Reuters:
Obama picks Hagel for defense, Brennan for CIA

Discussion: Salon, TalkLeft and Wall Street Journal

Elliott Abrams / Weekly Standard:
Mr. Hagel and the Jews — During the hearings on Chuck Hagel's …

Discussion: Power Line and American Spectator

Zeke Miller / BuzzFeed:
How The White House Is Selling Chuck Hagel

Discussion: The Page

First Read:
First Thoughts: Hagel — a man without a party

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, ABCNEWS, The Page, The National Memo, The Fix, Business Insider, New Atlanticist, msnbc.com, Capital New York and CNN

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
FLASHBACK: GOP Senators Praised Chuck Hagel's Statesmanship, Foreign Policy Expertise

Discussion: ThinkProgress and Little Green Footballs

Bryan Bender / Boston Globe:
Still a potent gay rights voice, Barney Frank dials back opposition to Chuck Hagel nomination

Discussion: Politico, American Prospect, The Atlantic Online, The Back Channel, Right Turn and The Huffington Post

Michael Schwirtz / New York Times:
Obama Expected to Pick Chuck Hagel for Defense Post

Devin Dwyer / ABCNEWS:
Obama Taps ‘Patriot’ Hagel for Defense

Discussion: Politico, Ricochet Conversations Feed, The Week and ABCNEWS

Matea Gold / Los Angeles Times:
Critics slam Chuck Hagel's likely nomination as Defense secretary

Discussion: Business Insider, The Fix, The Week and The Reaction

Josh Gerstein / Politico:
John Brennan tapped to lead CIA

Discussion: CNN, Politics, Power …, Business Insider and Israel Matzav

Stephen Moore / Wall Street Journal:

The Education of John Boehner — Leverage for the next clash: GOP willingness to let the spending sequester take effect. — What stunned House Speaker John Boehner more than anything else during his prolonged closed-door budget negotiations with Barack Obama was this revelation …

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:

Dems look for up to $1T in new revenues — Democrats say they want to raise as much as $1 trillion in new revenues through tax reform later this year to balance Republican demands to slash mandatory spending. — Democratic leaders have had little time to craft a new position …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Political Watch, Hot Air, The New Republic, Weasel Zippers, The Plum Line, New York Times, Vodkapundit and The Gateway Pundit

Sam Stein / The Huffington Post:
14th Amendment Option: Nancy Pelosi Urges Obama To ‘Just Go Do It’ (VIDEO)

Discussion: The Heritage Foundation, Weasel Zippers and The Week

Paul Krugman:

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: MarketWatch, The Hill, Mother Jones, Mediaite, Economist's View, Gawker, Marginal Revolution, Vodkapundit, Business Insider, The Week, Capital New York and Post Politics

This Just In:

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, Joe. My. God., The Immoral Minority and Sense of Events

Paul Krugman:

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: Ballot Box, Politico, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, Weekly Standard and Economist's View

Jeffrey Toobin / New Yorker:

CASTING VOTES — Here's a safe prediction for 2013: few people will pine for the Presidential campaign of 2012. Even Barack Obama's most ardent supporters acknowledge that his victory provided little of the euphoria of four years ago. Not many Republicans have longed to hear …

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Sam Baker / The Hill:
Supreme Court to hear arguments in March on same-sex marriage

Discussion: Politico

Alex Pareene / Salon:

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, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Liberal Values and The Immoral Minority

Christine Haughney / New York Times:

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.

Discussion: Politico, No More Mister Nice Blog, Right Wing News, Weasel Zippers, Gothamist and Capital New York, more at Mediagazer »

Elisabeth Arriero / The Charlotte Observer:

Man ID'd as Rand Paul's son arrested at airport — A teenager identified in several media outlets as the son of U.S. Sen. Rand Paul and the grandson of former presidential candidate Ron Paul was arrested Saturday morning at Charlotte Douglas International Airport.

Discussion: Townhall.com, CNN, ABCNEWS, Gawker, The Raw Story, Politico and The Hinterland Gazette

Herb Keinon / Jerusalem Post:
Rand Paul in Israel: US foreign aid can't be one-way

Discussion: The Hill and The Daily Caller

emptywheel:

The Seduction of John Brennan's “Moral Rectitude” — As has been floated over the last few days, Obama will reportedly appoint John Brennan CIA Director later today. — FWIW, having John Brennan in a position where he will be subject to Congressional oversight-rather than the oversight-free …

Discussion: Daily Kos

Scott Shane / New York Times:
Counterterror Adviser to be Named Chief of C.I.A.

Discussion: Guardian, The Plum Line, Taylor Marsh, emptywheel, Outside the Beltway and msnbc.com

Nick Wing / The Huffington Post:

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: Little Green Footballs and Joe. My. God.

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

The Big Fail — It's that time again: the annual meeting of the American Economic Association and affiliates, a sort of medieval fair that serves as a marketplace for bodies (newly minted Ph.D.'s in search of jobs), books and ideas. And this year, as in past meetings …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, CANNONFIRE, Prairie Weather and Vox Popoli

Adam Peck / ThinkProgress:

Delaware Town Takes Down Anti-Hispanic Signs After Public Outrage — The small community of Milford, Delaware took swift action over the weekend after a barrage of criticism over signs posted in several public parks that appeared to be anti-Hispanic. — A Daily Kos blogger documented …

Discussion: Gawker and The Raw Story