memeorandum: Hagel will need 60 votes to get confirmed as defense secretary (Josh Rogin/Foreign Policy)

6:50 PM ET, February 12, 2013

Top Items:

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:

What President Obama should (and shouldn't) say in the State of the Union — If President Obama wants immigration reform that includes a path to citizenship for undocumented workers, he may not want to mention it at all in tonight's State of the Union speech, a new Washington Post poll suggests.

Discussion: American Prospect, ABCNEWS, Washington Post, Hot Air, Weasel Zippers, Quartz, The Spot, Politico, ThinkProgress and Post Politics

Jamelle Bouie / American Prospect:

The GOP's Big Asian-American Problem — Still overlooked in the immigration discussion are Asian Americans, who are the fastest growing demographic group in the country—and one of the most diverse. The bulk of Asian American immigrants (83 percent) come from China, the Philippines, India, Vietnam, Korea, and Japan.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Feministing

Nick Wing / The Huffington Post:
Ted Nugent Preps For State Of The Union ‘Media Orgy,’ Some Laugh, Gun Control Advocates Salivate

Discussion: CNN, www.kfyi.com, Weasel Zippers and The Week

CBS News:
Poll: 45% approve of Obama's handling of the economy

Discussion: American Prospect and The Hill

Siobhan Hughes / Washington Wire:
Ted Nugent: ‘I Will Remain Respectful’ at Obama Speech

Discussion: Post Politics

Justin Sink / The Hill:
Nugent pledges to ‘take on the media orgy’ following State of the Union

Discussion: CNN, The Huffington Post, Politico and Talking Points Memo

CNN:
First on CNN: In tea party response, Paul will urge GOP to embrace immigrants, cut spending

Discussion: Ballot Box, Post Politics and The Fix

CNN:
Medal of Honor recipient declines invitation to State of the Union

Discussion: The Daily Caller, The Week and Shakesville

Jackie Calmes / New York Times:
Watching Obama for Signs of Change

Discussion: CNN, Real Clear Politics, The Plum Line, Politico, Associated Press, Weekly Standard, The Hill, PERRspectives, Taylor Marsh, Roll Call, The Week, Jammie Wearing Fools, Washington Monthly, Democracy in America, msnbc.com, The Democratic Daily, Wonkette and ThinkProgress

Dana Bash / CNN:
TRENDING: Boehner: the president lacks ‘guts’ and ‘courage’

Discussion: Hot Air and Weasel Zippers

Michael Calderone / The Huffington Post:
Obama To Host Pre-State Of The Union Lunch With Network Anchors

Discussion: Weekly Standard and Weasel Zippers

Suzi Parker / Washington Post:

Sarah Palin tries to stay relevant — CORRECTION: An earlier version of this post incorrectly reported that Sarah Palin planned to contribute to the Al Jazeera America news network. — The Sarah Palin Story is a cautionary tale about what can happen when politics and celebrity meet.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Twitchy, Human Events, The Daily Caller, The Jawa Report, Mediaite, DCist, The Gateway Pundit, Michelle Malkin, The Week, Conservatives4Palin, Weasel Zippers and National Review

Noah Rothman / Mediaite:

Parody Website Fools The Washington Post Into Thinking Sarah Palin Heading To Al Jazeera — “The Sarah Palin Story is a cautionary tale about what can happen when politics and celebrity meet,” beginsWashington Post contributor Suzi Parker's profile of Sarah Palin's move from Fox News Channel …

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Politico, The PJ Tatler, Business Insider and Nice Deb

Dylan Byers / Politico:

WaPo wrong on Palin's new job — The Washington Post has erroneously reported that Sarah Palin, the former vice presidential candidate and former Fox News contributor, is joining the Qatari-owned news network Al Jazeera. — “Late last week Al Jazeera America announced …

Discussion: Angry Black Lady Chronicles, FishbowlDC, NewsBusters blogs, Twitchy, The Daily Caller, Hot Air, Business Insider and CNN, more at Mediagazer »

Jenn Taylor / Twitchy:
Sarah Palin joining Al-Jazeera? Obnoxious ‘real journalist’ at WaPo falls for obvious satire

Discussion: Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

ThinkProgress:

BREAKING: Senate Passes Violence Against Women Act, With No Help From 22 Republican Male Senators — The Violence Against Women Act reauthorization passed through the Senate on Tuesday afternoon, by a vote of 78 to 22. Of those opposing the legislation, all 22 were Republican men.

Discussion: The Atlantic Online, Politico, Taylor Marsh, Angry Black Lady Chronicles, The Raw Story and Talking Points Memo

Sahil Kapur / Talking Points Memo:
Senate Passes Expanded Violence Against Women Act

Discussion: Addicting Info and The Maddow Blog

Sam Schaefer / L.A. NOW:

Christopher Dorner in gun battle with authorities, source says — Christopher Dorner was engaged in a shootout with federal authorities in the Big Bear area Tuesday, a law enforcement source told The Times. — The shooting occurred after Dorner burglarized a home, tied up a couple and stole their car, the source said.

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, The Other McCain, National Updates, Gawker, The Raw Story, KTLA 5 and NPR

Lauren Lloyd / LAist:
Christopher Dorner Cornered By Police Inside Cabin Near Big Bear [UPDATED]

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Weasel Zippers and DCist

Talking Points Memo:

Reid: I Won't Honor Holds On Hagel Nomination — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-NV) told reporters Tuesday that he will not honor any holds placed on the nomination of Chuck Hagel for secretary of defense. — He said he intends to hold a vote this week if Hagel is cleared by the Armed Serices Committee.

Josh Rogin / Foreign Policy:

Hagel will need 60 votes to get confirmed as defense secretary — The Senate Armed Services Committee was set to approve the nomination of Chuck Hagel for secretary of defense Tuesday, but several Republican senators told The Cable they will insist he receive 60 votes on the Senate floor before he is confirmed.

Discussion: The Plum Line and National Review

Robert Costa / National Review:
Inhofe to ‘Postpone’ Hagel Vote

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Hill, First Read, Daily Kos, The Dish, The Plum Line, Israel Matzav, Booman Tribune and NBCNews.com

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Joe Scarborough Hates Moms, PowerPoint — What makes Joe Scarborough such an enjoyable figure is his combination of affability, good intentions, high self-regard, low self-awareness, and total lack of analytical reasoning skills. He is not remotely dislikable. He is Ron Burgundy come to life.

Discussion: The Plum Line, No More Mister Nice Blog, NewsBusters blogs and Business Insider

Hayes Brown / ThinkProgress:
Morning Joe Crew Rips Republicans For Hagel Obstruction: 'It's A Colossal Mistake'

Discussion: Crooks and Liars

Natasha Korecki / Chicago Sun Times:

Ex-Tea Party Rep. Joe Walsh insists he's not trying to stop paying child support — After insisting he wasn't a “deadbeat dad” throughout his failed campaign for re-election, ex-U.S. Rep. Joe Walsh is still dogged by questions about child support. — Walsh, a flame-throwing Tea Party Republican …

Discussion: Politico, NewsBusters blogs, Addicting Info, Wonkette, The Raw Story, Ballot Box, Mediaite, The Moderate Voice, Post Politics, Talking Points Memo and The Daily Caller

Esquire:

The Shooter Needs Health Insurance: A Response to Stars and Stripes — After yesterday's release of “The Shooter”, Esquire's 15,000 word piece by Phil Bronstein on the Navy SEAL who killed Osama bin Laden and his difficult transition back to civilian life, much attention is being correctly focused …

Discussion: Center for Investigative …, Hot Air, Los Angeles Times, The Jawa Report, Stars & Stripes, The American Conservative, Gawker, Washington Wire, Wonkette, Patterico's Pontifications, Business Insider, NPR, Poynter, Mediaite, NewsBusters blogs and Politico

Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Esquire Initially Left VA Health Care Out Of Online Version Of Navy SEAL Story

Discussion: Twitchy, Crooks and Liars, Center for Investigative … and Poynter

Paul Krugman:

Hearsay Economics — Jonathan Chait is boggled by Joe Scarborough's latest rant. (Dear Jon: I am not “prickly”: I'm aggressive and annoying. But that's by design, and I only do it when the situation calls for it.) What's really striking is Scarborough's certainty that we're experiencing …

Discussion: New York Magazine, Brad DeLong, Outside the Beltway and Eschaton

Michael Hirsh / NationalJournal.com:

White House: North Korean Test Will Not Change SOTU — Obama must confront an embarrassing failure of his nonproliferation policies on the eve of his big speech. — The White House sought to brazen out North Korea's nuclear test on Tuesday, insisting that “this wasn't a surprise,” …

Discussion: Hot Air, Right Turn, Sense of Events, msnbc.com, Daily Kos and The Heritage Foundation

Reuters:
China joins U.S., Japan, EU in condemning North Korea nuclear test

Discussion: China Real Time Report, Washington Post, New York Times, Hot Air, Wall Street Journal, Firedoglake, The Week, The PJ Tatler, Taylor Marsh, Quartz, WorldViews, USA Today, Latest Reports, NPR, Outside the Beltway and AMERICAblog

ABCNEWS:

Fort Hood Hero Says President Obama ‘Betrayed’ Her, Other Victims — Three years after the White House arranged a hero's welcome at the State of the Union address for the Fort Hood police sergeant and her partner who stopped the deadly shooting there, Kimberly Munley says President Obama broke …

Discussion: Belmont Club, Gawker, The PJ Tatler, Weasel Zippers and The Jawa Report

Riley Yates / Morning Call:

Lehigh University student sues over grade, seeks $1.3 million — Megan Thode isn't the first Lehigh University student who was unhappy with the grade she received in a course. But she may be the first to sue to get it changed. — The C+ that Thode was given scuttled her dream of becoming …

Discussion: The Daily Caller, NY Daily News, alan.com and americanthinker.com

Spencer E. Ante / Wall Street Journal:

Millions Improperly Claimed U.S. Phone Subsidies — The U.S. government spent about $2.2 billion last year to provide phones to low-income Americans, but a Wall Street Journal review of the program shows that a large number of those who received the phones haven't proved they are eligible to receive them.

Discussion: Little Green Footballs, Weasel Zippers, Hot Air, Infowars, Law Blog, americanthinker.com, The Gateway Pundit and The Other McCain

Matt Gutman / ABCNEWS:

Passengers Text on Cruise Conditions — A small boat belonging to the Coast Guard Cutter Vigorous patrols near the cruise ship Carnival Triumph in the Gulf of Mexico, Feb. 11, 2013. — Passengers on the fire-damaged Carnival cruise ship stranded in the Gulf of Mexico have reported worsening …

Discussion: BBC and BuzzFeed

Politico:

Parliamentarian Sullivan joins Google - Frank staffers launch firm - Al Jazeera hires DLA Piper - Elmendorf to host Pelosi — PI SCOOP... PARLIAMENTARIAN SULLIVAN JOINS GOOGLE: John Sullivan, who retired as House parliamentarian in March 2012, is joining Google's Washington operation.

Discussion: Washington Examiner