memeorandum: Ed Koch on Chuck Hagel Nomination: Obama's Reneging on His Conveyed Support for Israel Has Come Earlier Than I Thought (Dovid Efune/Algemeiner.com)

5:05 PM ET, January 7, 2013

Top Items:

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

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: Guardian, Business Insider, Mondoweiss, Mother Jones, Hullabaloo, Wired and Firedoglake

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: CNN, Right Turn, Politico, The Hinterland Gazette and Post Politics

Dovid Efune / Algemeiner.com:

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: Israel Matzav, National Review and The PJ Tatler

Hayes Brown / ThinkProgress:

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: The Maddow Blog, J Street and Alan Colmes'Alan Colmes'

Lanny J. Davis / The Hill:

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: Firedoglake and Daily Dot

Peter Beinart / The Daily Beast:

Why Hagel Matters — If the former senator is confirmed over Republican objections as Obama's new secretary of defense, it could signal the beginning of a new era in American foreign policy, says Peter Beinart. — If media reports are true, Barack Obama will soon nominate Chuck Hagel to be secretary of defense.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, PERRspectives, Weasel Zippers, AEIdeas, No More Mister Nice Blog, Crooks and Liars and The Daily Caller

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

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

Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn:
Topsy-turvy Hagel politics

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

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
Crack Pipe — I'm watching a lot of neoconservative policy activists …

Discussion: Guardian and Balloon Juice

Valerie Jarrett / White House.gov Blog:
Hagel for Secretary of Defense

Discussion: BuzzFeed, AMERICAblog and The Democratic Daily

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

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

Discussion: The Page

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

Discussion: The Other McCain, The Spectacle Blog and Power Line

Katie Glueck / Reuters:
The critics' case against Chuck Hagel

Discussion: BuzzFeed, Politico, Politicker and Washington Free Beacon

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

Discussion: Little Green Footballs

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

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

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

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

Mickey Kaus / The Daily Caller:
Hagel's Mideast blunder-not on Israel

Discussion: The Week

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

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

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, Business Insider, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Mother Jones, The Hill, The Informer, Economist's View, Marginal Revolution, Gawker, The Week, Vodkapundit, Capital New York and Post Politics

Congressman Greg Walden: 2010:

Greg Walden plans to introduce bill to stop U.S. Treasury from creating trillion dollar platinum coins to pay bills and expand debt — THE DALLES, Ore. - U.S. Rep. Greg Walden (R-Ore.) today announced plans to introduce a bill to stop a proposal to mint high-value platinum coins to pay the federal government's bills.

Discussion: Politico, Talking Points Memo, Political Watch, Mediaite, Business Insider and National Review

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

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 …

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

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, The Impolitic, 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 »

Glenn Greenwald / Guardian:

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 …

Discussion: The Plum Line, Salon, Reuters, emptywheel, Hullabaloo, Business Insider, Taylor Marsh and The Daily Dish

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

Discussion: Politico, emptywheel, Outside the Beltway and msnbc.com

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

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.

Kyle Olson / EAGnews.org:

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: Mediaite, FreedomWorks, Michelle Malkin, Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit

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