memeorandum: W.H.: We have a spending problem (Donovan Slack/Politico)

9:10 PM ET, February 11, 2013

Top Items:

Rachel Donadio / New York Times:

Frail Pope Breaks Tradition and Resigns — VATICAN CITY — Citing advanced years and infirmity, but showing characteristic tough-mindedness and unpredictability, Pope Benedict XVI shocked Roman Catholics on Monday by saying that he would resign on Feb. 28, becoming the first pope to do so in six centuries.

Igor Volsky / ThinkProgress:

What Did Pope Benedict Do, Anyway? — Pope Benedict XVI, who took office in 2005, announced on Monday that he will resign on Feb. 28, the first pope to leave the papacy since Pope Gregory XII in 1415. The 85-year-old pontiff is in poor health and has been advised by doctors “not to take any more transatlantic trips.”

Discussion: NBCNews.com, The Impolitic, NPR, ncronline.org, News Desk, Law Blog, NewsHounds blog, msnbc.com, Hot Air and ProfessorBainbridge.com

CNN:
Biden says he's ‘not running’...for the papacy

Discussion: The Hill and Politico

Max Fisher / WorldViews:
The bizarre stories of the four other popes to have resigned in the last 1,000 years

Discussion: Guardian, The Fix, Poynter, Washington Post, Hit & Run, Daniel W. Drezner and FIRST DRAFT

David Willey / BBC:
Pope Benedict XVI

Reid J. Epstein / Politico:
Biden praises Pope Benedict's integrity, jokes he won't run to succeed him

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

John Stanton / BuzzFeed: Catholic Left Looks For An Opening With A New Pope

Phil Bronstein / Esquire:

The Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden... Is Screwed — For the first time, the Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden tells his story — speaking not just about the raid and the three shots that changed history, but about the personal aftermath for himself and his family.

Stephen Dinan / Washington Times:

Ted Nugent to be guest at State of the Union — While other members of Congress are hosting gun-control advocates for Tuesday's State of the Union address, Rep. Steve Stockman has given one of his visitor's gallery tickets to Ted Nugent, the conservative gun-rights supporter.

Discussion: Mediaite, The Gateway Pundit and The Right Scoop

Jeremy W. Peters / The Caucus:
Ted Nugent Will Attend State of the Union Address

Discussion: alicublog and CNN

Congressman Steve Stockman:
Ted Nugent to join Stockman at State of the Union

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Little Green Footballs, Wonkette and Daily Kos

Jackie Kucinich / USA Today:
Lawmakers look to pack State of Union with gun victims

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Roll Call, The PJ Tatler, Business Insider and The National Memo

Kevin Grandia / Firedoglake:

New Study Finds Koch Bros. Tried to Start Tea Party Movement in 2002 — Were David Koch (and his brother Charles) planning to astroturf the Tea Party even earlier than formerly suspected? — Shattering the public perception that the Tea Party is a spontaneous popular citizens movement …

Discussion: Mock, Paper, Scissors and DeSmogBlog

Brendan DeMelle / DeSmogBlog:
Study Confirms Tea Party Was Created by Big Tobacco and Billionaires

Discussion: Little Green Footballs and The Raw Story

Chris Moody / Yahoo! News:

Democrats offer ‘prebuttal’ to Marco Rubio's rebuttal of Obama's State of the Union Address — Keep up, if you can—things are about to get strange. — In preparation for President Barack Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday night, the Democratic National Committee …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers and Jammie Wearing Fools

Lara Seligman / The Hill:
Hill Poll: Voters: Obama no better than Bush on security vs civil liberties

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Taylor Marsh and Guardian

Quinnipiac News + Events:
Release Detail — February 11, 2013 - Obama Should Focus State …

Discussion: Mediaite, PERRspectives, The Hill, msnbc.com and Business Insider

Glenn Thrush / Politico:

Obama's State of the Union: Aggressive — President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech will be less a presidential olive branch than a congressional cattle prod. — Emboldened by electoral victory and convinced the GOP is unwilling to cut deals, Obama plans to use his big prime …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, CNN, Associated Press, alan.com, Truthdig, NBCNews.com, American Prospect, Los Angeles Times, Washington Post, USA Today, Shakesville, The Plum Line, New York Times, Hot Air, First Read, The Huffington Post, msnbc.com and The Hill

Chicago Tribune: Obama coming to Chicago to ‘talk about the gun violence’

Christi Parsons / Los Angeles Times:
Hadiya Pendleton's parents to attend State of the Union address

Discussion: Talking Points Memo and The Hill

Brian Beutler / Talking Points Memo:

House Republicans Unlikely To Pass New Sequester Replacement Plan — Buried in this Politico story about the House GOP's sequester strategy is a key admission. … This is what Republicans — most recently House Majority Leader Eric Cantor — are obscuring when they claim, in Cantor's words …

Discussion: The Moderate Voice and msnbc.com

Alexander Bolton / The Hill:
Signs of bipartisanship offer Obama narrow window to move agenda

Discussion: Booman Tribune

Jake Sherman / Politico: House GOP: No new tax bills

Ian Millhiser / ThinkProgress:

Justice Ginsburg: The Senate Is ‘Destroying The United States’ Reputation... As A Beacon of Democracy' — Two years ago, Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg lamented that if she were nominated today to her current job on the Supreme Court, her “ACLU connection would probably disqualify” her from being confirmed.

Charlie Spiering / Washington Examiner:

Biden: We're counting on ‘legitimate media’ for successful gun control effort … During a press conference on gun safety in Philadelphia, Vice President Joe Biden said that any reports that suggest that he was trying to take weapons away from gun owners was a “bunch of malarkey.”

Discussion: protein wisdom, Mediaite and The PJ Tatler

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Biden says gun lobby's depiction of Obama plan ‘a bunch of malarkey’

Discussion: Chicago Tribune, Hot Air, Politico, Washington Examiner, CNN and Weasel Zippers

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

New Winger Conspiracy Theory Takes Flight — In the wake of news that Sen. Lindsey Graham is threatening to block the nominations of Hagel and Brennan, there's a whole new conspiracy theory bubbling up on the right. From ground zero of Obama era conspiracy theories comes the conspiracy theory …

Discussion: Salon, Wonkette, The Atlantic Online and The Reaction

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

Don't Believe the Hype — Let's just say it: Marco Rubio is the Wes Clark of 2013. Only with many fewer accomplishments. — It pains me to say this because I'm an admirer of Gen. Wesley Clark. I think he would have made a good president. He was an extremely accomplished career military officer.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Crooks and Liars, The Daily Caller and Booman Tribune

Nate Silver / FiveThirtyEight:

New Rove Group Could Backfire on G.O.P. — The strategist Karl Rove and his allies last week announced the formation of Conservative Victory Project, a new “super PAC” designed to lend support to what they see as more electable candidates in Republican Senate primaries.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Prairie Weather

New York Times:

Quietly Killing a Consumer Watchdog — If you'd like to know why Republicans are trying to shut down the Consumer Financial Protection Bureau, take a look at three things the agency has already accomplished in its first 18 months: — ¶ It called a halt to predatory practices by mortgage lenders …

Discussion: Hillman Foundation blogs, Lawyers, Guns & Money, Prairie Weather and Daily Kos

Ben Terris / NationalJournal.com:

The Curse of the State of the Union Aisle Seat — Lawmakers wait for hours to get one of these coveted seats, but at what cost? — Some members wait for hours just for a chance to be in this picture. (Richard A. Bloom/Photo illustration) — It was supposed to be one of the best seats in the House.

Discussion: Michelle Malkin, The Atlantic Online, Weasel Zippers and TheBlaze.com

Donovan Slack / Politico:

W.H.: We have a spending problem — White House press secretary Jay Carney said Monday that Washington does have a spending problem and the main driver of that problem is health-care costs. — The remarks followed a statement by House Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi on Sunday that …

Discussion: Speak With Authority, The National Memo, Hot Air, Weekly Standard, AEIdeas and Weasel Zippers