No excuse to lift the filibuster  —  Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.) revealed on “Fox News Sunday” that defense secretary nominee Chuck Hagel responded to his letter jointly signed by Sen. Kelly Ayotte (R-N.H.) asking whether he made the reported comment at Rutgers University that the State Department …

HILLARY CLINTON UNVEILS FIRST PHASE OF NEW LIFE — Rubio's last laugh — POTUS golfs with Tiger — 10th anniv. of Iraq war is March 19; MSNBC special 9 p.m. — Yoko Ono is 80  —  EXCLUSIVE: Former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton will hit the paid speaking circuit this spring (likely April or May) …

Reaganism After Reagan  —  TODAY'S Republicans are very good at tending the fire of Ronald Reagan's memory but not nearly as good at learning from his successes.  They slavishly adhere to the economic program that Reagan developed to meet the challenges of the late 1970s and early 1980s …

College: Fire professor who forced students to vote for Obama  —  A tenured professor who forced her students to sign pledges that they would vote for President Obama last November should be fired, the college's president recommended.  —  Sharon Sweet, an associate professor of mathematics …

Marco Rubio is against administration's Rubio-esque immigration plan  —  Comprehensive immigration reform remains one of the few issues where Washington is making process.  Florida Sen. Marco Rubio (R) has been shopping his plan to Republicans and Democrats, while in his State of the Union …

Nebraska Sen. Mike Johanns to retire  —  Nebraska Sen. Mike Johanns announced on Monday that he would retire in January 2015, a surprise decision by a Republican senator who was considered in a strong position for reelection next year.  —  The retirement of Johanns — a former GOP governor …

Peres to give Obama Medal of Distinction  —  President will honor his American counterpart for standing with Israel ‘in times of crisis’  —  It is doubtful US President Barack Obama will rack up many tangible policy achievements during his upcoming Middle East trip.

Why Barron's Went With That Ridiculous Cover Story On Obama Turning America Into Greece  —  In case you missed it, quiet financial newspaper Barron's took a huge swipe at Obama in its latest cover, promising that if he got his way, the US would be on the road to Greece.

Former Gov. Palin to address CPAC 2013  —  Former Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin (R) will speak at next month's Conservative Political Action Conference (CPAC).  —  “We are pleased to again welcome Governor Sarah Palin to CPAC in March,” said American Conservative Union (ACU) Chairman Al Cardenas in a statement.

Sexy U.S. Presidents: Would You Hit It Or Quit It?  —  How bone-able are these presidential h0tties?  —  Katie Notopoulos  —  an hour ago  —  28 responses

Alec fast & slur-ious  —  Blasts Post fotog in a ‘racist’ rant  —  Actor Alec Baldwin allegedly called a black Post photographer a racial epithet, a “crackhead” and a “drug dealer” during a confrontation on an East Village street yesterday morning, prompting police to intervene.

Obama needs a ‘Plan B’ on guns  —  Editor's note: David Frum, a CNN contributor, is a contributing editor at Newsweek and The Daily Beast.  He is the author of eight books, including a new novel, “Patriots,” and a post-election e-book, “Why Romney Lost.”  Frum was a special assistant to President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2002.

In GOP Civil War, No Easy Answers  —  Republicans continue to argue about whether the party needs to take steps to prevent the next Christine O'Donnell, Sharron Angle, Todd Akin and Ken Buck, as well as how it might do so.  —  Those inept and seriously flawed candidates lost races that other Republicans would have won easily.

Historic oversight corrected: Film ‘Lincoln’ inspires look into slavery vote  —  Oscar-nominated “Lincoln,” which depicts the political fight to pass the 13th Amendment abolishing slavery, played a role in Mississippi officially ratifying the amendment this month — a century and a half later.

Colorado House passes ban on concealed weapons on campus, slew of other gun bills  —  Concealed weapons on college campuses would be banned under a bill passed Monday in the Colorado House, legislation part of a Democratic gun control package that cleared the House the same day.

Project Seeks to Build Map of Human Brain  —  The Obama administration is planning a decade-long scientific effort to examine the workings of the human brain and build a comprehensive map of its activity, seeking to do for the brain what the Human Genome Project did for genetics.