memeorandum: Cheney backs Obama policy on drone strikes (Meghashyam Mali/The Hill)

12:35 PM ET, February 12, 2013

Top Items:

China joins U.S., Japan, EU in condemning North Korea nuclear test — (Reuters) - North Korea conducted its third nuclear test on Tuesday in defiance of existing U.N. resolutions, drawing condemnation from the United States, Japan, Europe and Pyongyang's only major ally, China, which summoned the North Korean ambassador to protest.

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

Jethro Mullen / CNN:
North Korea says it conducted new, more powerful nuclear test

Discussion: alan.com, Global Public Square, TechCrunch and Weasel Zippers

First Read / NBCNews.com: First Thoughts: Obama's last chance to go big

Jane Perlez / New York Times:
Nuclear Test Poses Big Challenge to China's New Leader

Discussion: Guardian, The Week and Quartz

New York Times:
North Korea Is Suspected of Conducting 3rd Nuclear Test

Discussion: Weekly Standard, Weasel Zippers, The Heritage Foundation and Ed Driscoll

New York Times:
North Korea Confirms It Conducted 3rd Nuclear Test

Discussion: NBCNews.com, Lawfare, The Maddow Blog, The Week, NPR and americanthinker.com

BBC:
North Korea carries out biggest nuclear test

Discussion: Guardian, National Review, Associated Press, Quartz, Gawker and Truthdig

Jackie Calmes / New York Times:

Watching Obama for Signs of Change — WASHINGTON — On Tuesday night, the president will address the nation and Congress on the state of the union. But many will watch as well for signs of the state of Barack Obama. — Inside the White House and out, advisers and associates have noted subtle …

Discussion: Real Clear Politics, The Plum Line, CBS News, The Democratic Daily, Democracy in America and msnbc.com

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: The Plum Line, ThinkProgress, Washington Post, The Hill, Politico and Taegan Goddard's …

Politico:

Obama's troop withdrawal leaves unanswered questions — President Barack Obama's announcement Tuesday that he'll withdraw 34,000 more troops from Afghanistan over the coming year is a major step toward his goal of handing Afghans responsibility for the war by 2014, but the president will leave …

Discussion: Hot Air and NPR

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: The Moderate Voice, Ballot Box, Wonkette, The Raw Story, Talking Points Memo, Post Politics and Addicting Info

Politico:

Republican senators threaten Chuck Hagel filibuster — Some Senate Republicans are prepared to filibuster Chuck Hagel's nomination to become the next secretary of defense, a rare maneuver to block a Cabinet-level nominee that demonstrates the lingering hostility from GOP senators toward a man who used to serve with them.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and americanthinker.com

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

Discussion: Crooks and Liars and Israel Matzav

David M. Drucker / Roll Call:
House GOP Plans Series of Messaging Bills, Looks Past Obama

Discussion: First Read

Jonathan Chait / New York Magazine:

Wow, Joe Scarborough Doesn't Understand Economics at All — A couple of weeks ago, Joe Scarborough invited Paul Krugman onto his MSNBC show. The meeting of the brilliant but prickly Krugman with the dopey but genial Scarborough held the promise of a cataclysmic matter-touches-antimatter collision …

Discussion: Booman Tribune

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: Brad DeLong and Eschaton

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: Politico, Mediaite, Business Insider, The Gateway Pundit, Weasel Zippers, FishbowlDC and National Review, more at Mediagazer »

Talking Points Memo:

Nugent: ‘I Will Be Taking On Media Orgy’ After SOTU — Outspoken rocker Ted Nugent will attend President Obama's State of the Union Address Tuesday in order to take on the media and “counter the scams and lies of the left,” he explained to talk radio host Mike Broomhead Monday.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, www.kfyi.com, msnbc.com, Mediaite, DCist, The Gateway Pundit, No More Mister Nice Blog, The Raw Story and USA Today

Judy Kurtz / The Hill:
Lawmaker invites Ted Nugent to Obama's State of the Union address on Tuesday

Discussion: CNN, The Week, Yahoo! News, Politico, Shakesville, Scared Monkeys, AMERICAblog and The Moderate Voice

Adam Peck / ThinkProgress:
Texas Congressman Invites Ted Nugent, Who Threatened The President's Life, To The State Of The Union

Discussion: Daily Kos, Congressman Steve Stockman, Little Green Footballs, Twitchy, Wonkette and The PJ Tatler

The Boston Globe:

Republican Gomez to campaign for US Senate — Gabriel E. Gomez, a former US Navy SEAL and private equity investor, is set to kick off his campaign for the Republican nomination for US Senate Tuesday,with a press release and Web video, said a senior adviser.

Discussion: Weekly Standard and TheBlaze.com

Gabriel Gomez / Gabriel Gomez for U.S. Senate:
Why I Am Running — I'm running to serve, and I mean …

Discussion: Ballot Box and The PJ Tatler

Boston Globe:
Republican Gabriel Gomez sets stage for a run in Senate special election

Discussion: Politico, CNN and Roll Call

Megan McCloskey / Stars & Stripes:

Esquire article wrongly claims SEAL who killed Bin Laden is denied healthcare — Esquire magazine claims “The Man Who Killed Osama bin Laden ... Is Screwed.” — The story details the life of the Navy SEAL after the successful raid to take out the No. 1 terrorist, and it asserts that once …

Discussion: Center for Investigative …, Esquire, Politico, Washington Wire, Crooks and Liars, Patterico's Pontifications, Mediaite, Business Insider, The Week, NewsBusters blogs, Wired, Gawker, Hot Air and The Raw Story

Aaron Glantz / Center for Investigative Reporting:
VA's disability backlog hurts Navy SEAL who killed bin Laden

Discussion: Los Angeles Times, Poynter and alan.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: Infowars, Weasel Zippers, Law Blog, americanthinker.com, The Gateway Pundit and The Other McCain

Travis Waldron / ThinkProgress:

What Marco Rubio Doesn't Understand About Debt And The Economy — Florida Sen. Marco Rubio will deliver the official Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union address tonight. While Rubio has been pitched as the “savior” and “new face” of the GOP, a preview of his speech gives …

Discussion: Hullabaloo and Crooks and Liars

Harry J Enten / Guardian:
Marco Rubio for 2016? Five reasons I wouldn't bet on it

Discussion: The Reaction and The Week

Joe Nocera / New York Times:

The ‘Die Hard’ Quandary — Later this week, the fifth installment of the “Die Hard” movies is scheduled to open in theaters across the country. “A Good Day to Die Hard” stars, once again, Bruce Willis as John McClane, a too-stubborn-for-his-own-good cop who has to stop a highly trained army …

Discussion: Hit & Run, Prairie Weather and Right Wing News

NRSC:

CEMENTING A LIBERAL LEGACY WHILE IGNORING 2014 — MEMO … In recent weeks, President Obama and his team have made no secret of the fact that the Inaugural Address and the State of the Union is a two-step process to outline an aggressively liberal and partisan agenda for their second term.