memeorandum: Immigrant Son — Oriales García Rubio knows how it feels to want more. (Michael Grunwald/TIME)

4:05 PM ET, February 7, 2013

Top Items:

Panetta: Obama Absent Night of Benghazi — Defense Secretary Leon Panetta testified this morning on Capitol Hill that President Barack Obama was absent the night four Americans were murdered in Benghazi on September 11, 2012: — Panetta said, though he did meet with Obama …

Discussion: The Mental Recession, Right Turn, Booman Tribune and nation.foxnews.com

William Kristol / Weekly Standard:

On Their Own — The White House left Ambassador Chris Stevens, Glen Doherty, Tyrone Woods, and Sean Smith on their own on September 11 in Benghazi. That is the upshot of today's Capitol Hill hearing featuring Defense Secretary Leon Panetta and Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Martin Dempsey.

Discussion: Power Line

Associated Press:
Panetta defends military response in Libya attack

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Hit & Run, Flopping Aces, Hot Air and Pat Dollard

Tim Mak / Politico:
Leon Panetta defends Pentagon response after Benghazi attack

Discussion: ABCNEWS

SOOPERMEXICAN:

News Media Scrub Cop Murderer's Manifesto of Pro-Obama, Hillary, MSNBC, CNN, Gay, and Anti-Gun Comments — I've been following closely the news story about Chris Dorner, who is now suspected of murdering three people, including one police officer, and shooting another two police officers.

Discussion: BuzzFeed, nation.foxnews.com, Weasel Zippers, Council of Conservative … and The Jawa Report

Crimefile / CRIME, GUNS, AND VIDEOTAPE:
Fired LAPD Officer, Obama Lover and Committed Gun Control Advocate is Being Sought In Revenge Killings!

Discussion: Bob Owens, Associated Press and The PJ Tatler

Bryan Preston / The PJ Tatler:
Suspected L.A. Cop Killer Posted Pro-Obama, Pro-Gun Control, Leftist Rant on the Web (Update: KTLA Whitewash)

Discussion: protein wisdom, SOOPERMEXICAN and Five Feet of Fury

Politico:

The GOP, Fox political purge — Republicans and Fox News are moving to purge the controversial political creatures they created. — Both were damaged badly in 2012 by loud, partisan voices that stoked the base — but that scared the hell out of many voters.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Boston Globe, The Raw Story, Goblinbooks, The Maddow Blog, Daily Kos, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Week, CNN, Mock, Paper, Scissors, First Read and American Prospect

Politico:
The GOP, Fox political purge

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Little Green Footballs

Washington Post:

Sen. Menendez contacted top officials in friend's Medicare dispute — Sen. Robert Menendez raised concerns with top federal health-care officials twice in recent years about their finding that a Florida eye doctor — a close friend and major campaign donor — had overbilled the government …

Discussion: CNN, The Hill, ABCNEWS, The Other McCain, NewsBusters blogs, Right Turn, OpenSecrets.org, Hot Air, Jammie Wearing Fools, Washington Free Beacon, Washington Examiner, Michelle Malkin and The Daily Caller

Conor Friedersdorf / The Atlantic Online:

As Neocons Defend Obama, Allies Doubt Him on Drones as Never Before — The John Brennan confirmation hearings are the biggest showdown yet on extrajudicial killing and executive branch secrecy. — For once, the Obama Administration's drone policy is much in the news.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Taylor Marsh, CANNONFIRE, New York Times, Pirate's Cove, The Week, Hit & Run and Mediaite

New York Times:
Congress to See Memo Backing Drone Attacks on Americans

Greg Sargent / The Plum Line:

Dems will offer GOP spending cuts to avert doom — The New York Times reports today that Senate Dems are putting together a plan to avert the sequester with new revenues drawn from things like nixing tax breaks enjoyed by oil and gas companies and closing loopholes for the wealthy and corporations.

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Angry Bear

New York Times:
Democrats Seek to Stave Off $1 Trillion in Cuts

Discussion: Wall Street Journal, The Maddow Blog and Daily Kos

Jake Sherman / Politico:
Some in GOP want sequester deal

Discussion: The Plum Line, Daily Kos and Hullabaloo

Michael Sneed / Chicago Sun Times:

SNEED EXCLUSIVE: Pending Jesse Jackson Jr. plea deal includes ‘significant jail time,’ source says — Sneed has learned a plea deal is now on the table between former Rep. Jesse Jackson Jr. and federal authorities probing allegations of campaign fund misuse.

Discussion: The Daily Caller, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Talking Points Memo, americanthinker.com, Outside the Beltway and The Hinterland Gazette

Dana Halferty / Medium:

Damsel, Arise: A Westboro Scion Leaves Her Church — Just after 11 last Sunday morning at Old First Reformed Church in Brooklyn, the Rev. Dr. Daniel Meeter is starting the Sunday service as he always does. He runs through the opening salutation and the collect for the day …

Discussion: Advocate, AMERICAblog, Religion Dispatches, Good As You, The Stranger … and Mediaite

Megan Phelps-Roper / Medium:
Head Full of Doubt / Road Full of Promise

Discussion: Joe. My. God., Mashable!, Guardian, Wonkette, Towleroad News #gay, Gawker and Good As You

Michael Grunwald / TIME:

Immigrant Son — Oriales García Rubio knows how it feels to want more. When she was a girl in central Cuba in the 1930s, her family of nine lived in a one-room house with a dirt floor. Her dolls were Coke bottles dressed in rags. She dreamed of becoming an actress.

Discussion: Washington Wire, Red Alert Politics, FishbowlDC, TheBlaze.com, CNN and Wall Street Journal

Adam Clark Estes / The Atlantic Wire:

Obama's Apparent Pick for Commerce Secretary Has a History of Shady Commerce — As he continues to fill out his cabinet, a report emerged late Wednesday that President Obama is “close to choosing” Chicago billionaire Penny Pritzker as America's next Secretary of Commerce. There's only one problem.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, JustOneMinute, First Read, Bloomberg, BuzzFeed and The Hill

James Hohmann / Politico:

Steve King: Donate to me to stop Karl Rove — Rep. Steve King (R-Iowa) says Karl Rove and American Crossroads are out to get him and his supporters should pony up to stop them. — Keying off a quote from Crossroads President Steven Law in Sunday's New York Times, the likely Iowa Senate candidate sent …

Discussion: CNN, The Atlantic Online and Business Insider

Jeff Zeleny / New York Times:
New Rove Effort Has G.O.P. Aflame

Discussion: The Caucus, Politico, The Daily Caller, American Prospect, BREITBART.COM, The Maddow Blog, FreedomWorks blogs, Daily Kos and Washington Wire

Gatemouth / Room Eight:

Exclusive: Lena Dunham—Born Again Political Virgin — LENA DUNHAM (in a video supporting President Obama's re-election): Your first time shouldn't be with just anybody. … The actual story of the cherries jubilee celebrating the loss of Lena Dunham's virginity is somewhat less romantic.

Discussion: Politico, Mediaite, Red Alert Politics, PopWatch, BREITBART.COM, The Daily Caller, Gawker and BuzzFeed

Mike Malloy / Ames Tribune:

Bill would define abortion as murder — State Rep. Rob Bacon believes abortion is murder and he wants the Iowa Code to reflect that. — Bacon, R-Slater, and eight other Republicans introduced such a bill in the Iowa House Wednesday. It would alter the definition of a person in murder cases to …

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, alan.com and The Raw Story

Amie Parnes / The Hill:

Obama ‘prepared, eager and anxious’ for GOP sequester fight — President Obama told House Democrats on Thursday that he is “prepared, eager and anxious” to produce a “big package” on the so-called sequester that would end “this governance in crisis.” — Speaking to lawmakers …

Discussion: CNN

Adam Peck / ThinkProgress:

Alabama Republicans Advance Bill To Close Last Five Abortion Clinics In The State — Republican lawmakers in Alabama took a crucial step on Wednesday towards their goal of shuttering the state's last five abortion clinics, advancing a bill to the full house that would impose strict requirements on abortion providers.

Discussion: alan.com

Quinnipiac News + Events:

Release Detail — February 7, 2013 - Americans Back Women In Combat 3-1, But Less For Draft, Quinnipiac University National Poll Finds; Support For Universal Gun Background Checks Is 92% — American voters support allowing women in combat by an overwhelming 75 - 22 percent, including 77 …

Discussion: Politico, The Plum Line, Talking Points Memo, Firedoglake, Hot Air, Outside the Beltway, NPR and msnbc.com

John Tierney / Salon:

Congress — not email — destroyed the Postal Service — The oft-maligned U.S. mail is actually quite well-run. Politicians steered it into the ditch — You know that feeling of pleasure you get when you see someone stand up to a bullying, incompetent boss? It's viscerally satisfying, isn't it?

Discussion: Balloon Juice, She The People, Democracy in America, The Week, thenation.com/blogs/117, AEIdeas, The Atlantic Online and New York Times

Jeff Zeleny / The Caucus:

Obama Plans Fund-Raising Trips to Aid Senate and House Candidates — President Obama may have run his last political campaign, but that does not relieve him of his obligations to the Democratic Party. — The president, who has a vested interest in Democrats retaining their Senate majority …

Discussion: Politico, CNN, Ballot Box, Roll Call and The Reaction

Josh Levs / CNN:

(CNN) — The secretive U.S. drone campaign against al Qaeda and its allies takes center stage Thursday as John Brennan, President Barack Obama's pick for CIA director, faces questions from Congress. As the president's chief counterterrorism adviser, he has made the drone campaign one of his biggest legacies.

Discussion: Bookworm Room, National Review, Hit & Run and BBC

CNN:

L.A. police look for ex-cop suspected in shootings — Los Angeles (CNN) — A former Los Angeles cop who had allegedly warned he would target law enforcement in retribution for being fired is now suspected of shooting three officers early Thursday, killing one, authorities said.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, CBS Los Angeles, L.A. NOW and Represent!

Alan I. Abramowitz / Sabato's Crystal Ball:

Midterm Forecast: Democrats May Gain House Seats in 2014 but Majority Probably Out of Reach — The 2014 midterm elections are a long way off but one thing is already fairly clear: Democrats face an uphill battle in trying to win back control of the House of Representatives.