Morning Read

FROM THE BLOGS:

How Obama can have a great second term
Jonathan Chait at New York magazine outlines the liberal path to success for the president.

Arrogance and overreach
Republicans should be ready to capitalize on what Erick Erickson at Red State calls Obama’s extreme arrogance.

The liberal hour
Ross Douthat at The New York Times breaks down why, despite having the momentum, Obama won’t necessarily be remembered as the next Reagan.

Liberalism and freedom
Ed Kilgore at the Washington Monthly says Obama’s inaugural address was a perfect encapsulation of the long-lost liberal case.   

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Boehner: Obama’s goal is to ‘annihilate’ the Republican Party
House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said Obama's  primary goal of his second term in office is to "annihilate" the Republican Party, according to The Hill's Jonathan Easley.

Panetta to lift ban on women in combat
Secretary of Defense Leon Panetta is ending the ban on women serving in combat roles in the military, The Hill's Jeremy Herb reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

House GOP told to stop talking about rape
Post Politics's Rosalind Helderman and Ed O'Keefe report that House Republicans were told that controversial comments about rape and abortion were battering their brand

Obama loves to quote Reagan
Digital First Media's Ryan Teague Beckwith finds that the 44th president frequently cites the 40th when arguing his case

Former CIA legal adviser questions targeted killing
Mother Jones's Adam Serwer uses former Senate staffer Vicki Divoll to illustrate "one of the key paradoxes of the Obama administration"

Confused arguments about the NRA and criminals
The Corner's Robert VerBruggen says the argument that the NRA is supporting criminals is littered with holes

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Ryan: House discussing short-term hike to debt ceiling
The idea is to buy time for broader deficit-reduction negotiations with Democrats, The Hill's Russell Berman reports

Immigration advocates promise to put 'muscle' behind reform push
Pro-immigration reform groups are revving up efforts to force leaders to tackle legislation, The Hill's Cameron Joseph reports

FROM THE BLOGS:

Dem rep seeks to change Computer Fraud and Abuse Act
Rep. Zoe Lofgren (D-Calif.) is proposing a new law in recognition of Aaron Swartz. The legislation, which Lofgren posted on Reddit, would make significant changes to the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, Reason's Scott Shackford writes.

Wolf hires Goolsbee
A top donor for President Obama tapped Austan Goolsbee, the former chairman of Obama's Council of Economic Advisers, to join a new economic advisory firm, reports Michael J. De La Merced at Dealbook.

Guantanamo Bay protests at the Supreme Court
David Silbey of the Edge of The American West blog caught a group of protesters at the Supreme Court calling for closing the prison at Guantanamo Bay.

The Hastert Rule and the 113th Congress
Sarah Binder at The Monkey Cage wonders if the Hastert Rule is actually dead now.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Obama against the NRA
President Obama and the National Rifle Association positioned for a confrontation on gun policy, reports The Hill's Justin Sink.

Republicans characterize new Obama gun proposals as 'power-grab'
Responding to the president's new proposals to reduce gun violence, Republicans accused Obama of making a power-grab. The Hill's Mike Lillis has more.

FROM THE BLOGS:

Senators doing it right
Sen. Charles Schumer's (D-N.Y.) announcement that he will support former Sen. Chuck Hagel's (R-Neb.) nomination for secretary of Defense advances the story of exactly how Hagel will be confirmed, writes Jonathan Bernstein at his A Plain Blog About Politics. 

In Georgia, a blueprint for battling ObamaCare
The New Republic's Jonathan Cohn profiles a Georgia state legislator battling the implementation of the Obama administration's healthcare reform law. 

The Galactic Empire responds to the White House's response to the Death Star petition
StarWars.com responded to the President Obama's response to a petition to build a Death Star, according to Rob Bricken at io9. 

'Pauline Kael potheads'
Rod Dreher at The American Conservative meditates on mainstream pot use.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Dem Rep. Sanchez: Passing new gun restrictions will be tough sell in House
Passing new gun legislation will be especially difficult in the House of Representatives, Rep. Loretta Sanchez (D-Calif.) said Tuesday, reports The Hill's Jordy Yager.

Former Speaker Newt Gingrich (R-Ga.) on Tuesday accused President Obama of attempting to "bully" house Republicans with his press conference Monday demanding that Congress raise the debt ceiling.

FROM THE BLOGS:

The neocons' fight over Chuck Hagel
Cato's Christopher Preble argues that the confirmation of Hagel could represent a breaking point for neoconservatives' grip on the Republican Party

Obama dares GOP to kill the hostage
Daily Intel's Jonathan Chait says that it appears protracted negotiations over a grand debt deal have finally come to a head

Entitlement era winding down?
National Review's Michael Barone contemplates what could be next for the American economy

Obama debt-ceiling strategy hinges on GOP sanity
Salon's Robert Reich says the president is gambling by assuming that Republicans will bow to public pressure

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Geithner: US could default by mid-February
In a letter to House Speaker John Boehner and other leaders, Geithner urged lawmakers to raise the $16.4 trillion limit quickly, The Hill's Erik Wasson reports

Polls show voters favor broad range of new gun measures
Americans support a variety of options, including background checks, an assault-weapon ban and placement of armed police in schools, The Hill's Justin Sink reports

FROM THE BLOGS:

Why is Congress so dumb?
Salon's Alex Pareene says the legislature spends more time hounding donors than researching the bills it votes on

A petty pick
National Review's Jonah Goldberg argues the selection of Chuck Hagel to lead the Defense Department is intended as payback to the right

Christie's explanation of functioning democracy
National Journal's Ron Fournier says the New Jersey governor has traction for 2016 because his rhetoric matches the times

Pastor to deliver Inaugural benediction delivered anti-gay sermon
Pastor Louie Giglio advocates "ex-gay" therapy and implores Christians to prevent the "homosexual lifestyle," reports Josh Israel for ThinkProgress

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

AIG's board opts against suing the federal government
The company was considering challenging the legality of the $182 billion bailout that saved it, reports The Hill's Peter Schroeder

White House won't deport Piers Morgan
The Obama administration cited the First Amendment in responding to a petition on its We the People website, The Hill's Alicia M. Cohn reports

FROM THE BLOGS:

The GOP's Sandy problem
Daily Comment's Alex Koppleman argues that Republican opposition to the hurricane relief bill centers around characterizing necessary foresight as "pork."

Did conservatives lose the culture war?
The Week's Matt K. Lewis says conservatives must reconcile what appears to be an alarming loss on major cultural issues.

Joe Biden works the room
Talking Points Memo compiles a master cut of the vice president at the Senate swearing-in ceremony.

Can Obama be trusted on amnesty?
National Review's Mark Kirkorian argues the Obama administration's "contempt for law" suggests an amnesty compromise should not be trusted.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Failed coup effort against Boehner highlights House GOP divisions
The afternoon's tense vote underscored the divisions within the Republican Conference, The Hill's congressional team reports.

Google dodges antitrust lawsuit
The search engine giant agreed to a settlement with the FTC over fair-competition charges, The Hill's Brendan Sasso reports.

FROM THE BLOGS:

The preemptive war on Hagel
Opposition to former Sen. Chuck Hagel's (R-Neb.) possible nomination for secretary of Defense centers around Iran, writes Elizabeth Drew at the NYR blog. Read more...

FROM THE BLOGS:

John Boehner's Calvinball
Daily Intel's Jonathan Chait says the House Speaker's on-the-fly rulemaking as he negotiates with President Obama is reminiscent of the anarchic game from Calvin and Hobbes.

What could have stopped Adam Lanza?
National Review's Christina Hoff Sommers believes lawmakers seeking solutions in the face of the tragic Connecticut shooting might be asking the wrong questions.

A survival food taste test
With Mayans predicting the end of the world on Friday, Mother Jones's Tim Murphy samples some of the best survival foods for the impending apocalypse.

Will ObamaCare exchanges be ready?
Hit & Run's Peter Suderman questions whether the exchanges required under the president's signature healthcare law can meet their stated schedule.

OTHER NEWS SOURCES:

Bloomberg: NRA deserves blame for Newtown shooting
The New York City mayor and anti-gun activist says the gun lobby is partially to blame for the massacre, The Hill's Justin Sink reports.

Hobby Lobby denied relief from Obama birth control rules
The religiously affiliated arts-and-craft store saw a request for an injunction against rules requiring healthcare with access to free contraception denied, The Hill's Elise Viebeck reports.