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.
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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, Politico, Mondoweiss, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Right Turn, Post Politics, The Hinterland Gazette and Washington Examiner
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, The Other McCain, Connecting.the.Dots, Business Insider, Mondoweiss, Mother Jones, p m carpenter's commentary, Wired, The Week and Firedoglake
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:
Talking Points Memo, msnbc.com, The Maddow Blog, Salon and Little Green Footballs
Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Dick Cheney Apparently Didn't Mind The Term “Jewish Lobby” — When Cheney was Secretary, the Defense Department published a pamphlet using the phrase Hagel has gotten in trouble for uttering. It also instructed soldiers to downplay America's alliance with Israel. — Source: imgc.allpostersimages.com
Discussion:
Weekly Standard
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
Steven Hayward / Power Line:
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 …
Lanny J. Davis / The Hill:
Hagel must address ‘Jewish lobby’ comment
Discussion:
Firedoglake and Daily Dot
Peter Beinart / The Daily Beast:
Why Hagel Matters — If the former senator is confirmed …
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Weasel Zippers, PERRspectives, AEIdeas, CNN, No More Mister Nice Blog and Crooks and Liars
Bryan Bender / Boston Globe:
Still a potent gay rights voice, Barney Frank dials back opposition to Chuck Hagel nomination
Kenneth P. Vogel / Politico:
Bill Kristol's big plans start with Hagel nomination
Discussion:
New York Times, Hullabaloo, Daily Kos and msnbc.com
Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn:
Topsy-turvy Hagel politics
Discussion:
NationalJournal.com, Politico, Weekly Standard, Washington Free Beacon, Forbes, Hot Air, Israel Matzav, American Spectator and Power Line
Kevin Bohn / CNN:
White House officials reach out to Jewish community to answer Hagel concerns
Discussion:
Politico, The Hinterland Gazette, ABCNEWS, Business Insider and Israel Matzav
First Read:
First Thoughts: Hagel — a man without a party
Discussion:
The Page, ABCNEWS, The Moderate Voice, Business Insider, New Atlanticist, The National Memo, The Fix, msnbc.com, Capital New York and CNN
Devin Dwyer / ABCNEWS:
Obama Taps ‘Patriot’ Hagel for Defense
Discussion:
ABCNEWS, NationalJournal.com, CNN, Guardian, Politico, Progressive Alaska, Ricochet Conversations Feed and The Week
Valerie Jarrett / White House.gov Blog:
Hagel for Secretary of Defense
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, AMERICAblog and The Democratic Daily
Katie Glueck / Reuters:
The critics' case against Chuck Hagel
Discussion:
BuzzFeed, Mother Jones, Politicker and Washington Free Beacon
Michael Schwirtz / New York Times:
Obama Expected to Pick Chuck Hagel for Defense Post
Discussion:
The Plum Line, The Hill, Blue Jersey, blogs.telegraph.co.uk, CNN, Washington Examiner, msnbc.com, Lawfare, Algemeiner.com, emptywheel, American Prospect, The Week, Politico, ABCNEWS, Talking Points Memo, JustOneMinute, Washington Post, First Read, The Caucus, The BLT, Quartz, The Atlantic Online, Taylor Marsh and ThinkProgress
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.
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Josh Barro / Bloomberg:
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:
The Plum Line, Quartz, Free exchange and Business Insider
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:
The Immoral Minority, Mediaite, Sense of Events, Joe. My. God. and Towleroad News #gay
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:
Crooks and Liars, The Plum Line, Salon, Reuters, Hullabaloo, Taylor Marsh, Business Insider and The Daily Dish
RELATED:
Scott Shane / New York Times:
Counterterror Adviser to be Named Chief of C.I.A.
Discussion:
Politico, emptywheel and Outside the Beltway
Scott Keyes / ThinkProgress:
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
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.
Numbers / Pew Research Center for the People …:
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 …
Discussion:
Firedoglake, The Hill and Texas on the Potomac
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, The Impolitic and The Immoral Minority
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, Michelle Malkin, FreedomWorks, Weasel Zippers and The Gateway Pundit
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, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, Mediaite, Weasel Zippers, Weekly Standard, The Daily Caller 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:
Joe. My. God. and Little Green Footballs
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:
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