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By Scott Wong (
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STATE OF THE UNION: OBAMA DELIVERS A 'DEMOCRAT CLASSIC' - Glenn Thrush writes for the hometown paper: "Four years after his first State of the Union, Obama rolled out a series of vintage proposals from his party's amply stocked policy cupboard - a $1.75-an-hour hike in the federal minimum wage, an ambitious plan to expand public preschool education to all kids, reintroduction of a $50 billion infrastructure plan, and resurrection of climate change legislation. Taken as a whole, it marked the latest step in a clear effort by Obama to nudge the nation's politics to the center-left, a shift from the center-right politics of Ronald Reagan that have dominated American political life for more
than three decades. ...

-- "'It is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built this country - the idea that if you work hard and meet your responsibilities, you can get ahead, no matter where you come from, what you look like, or who you love,' he said as he began a speech that lived up to its billing as a bookend to his progressive inaugural address three weeks ago. 'It is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on behalf of the many, and not just the few; that it encourages free enterprise, rewards individual initiative, and opens the doors of opportunity to every child across this great nation of ours.' ...

-- "Over and again in the hourlong speech, Obama cast himself as champion of the working classes and portrayed Republicans as protectors of the wealthy and powerful ... Obama's more immediate aim was to back Republicans into a corner on the upcoming fight over $1.2 trillion in budget cuts triggered on March 1 by the sequester by harnessing public opinion for his own approach - through fewer budget cuts than Republicans want, a more modest approach to reforming runway entitlement programs and a greater emphasis on raising new tax revenues from corporations and the wealthy."
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WaPo, A1, "State of the symbolism: Speech guests help put human faces on rhetoric," By Ed O'Keefe, Emily Heil and David A. Fahrenthold: "There was a teacher who'd survived three gunshot wounds. A congresswoman who'd lived through an assassination attempt. The grieving parents of slain teenagers. And, a few feet away, a fierce pro-gun rock-and-roller who said he'd wind up 'dead or in jail' if the president was reelected. During many State of the Union speeches, the House's viewing gallery is filled mostly with congressional spouses, lucky staffers and visiting donors. But Tuesday was different. The normally staid gallery was filled, instead, with ordinary Americans whose unordinary lives
made them political symbols. In many cases, what they symbolized was the toll of American gun violence. There were 35 people who had been touched by tragedy, whom Democrats had brought to represent the real stakes of the gun-control debate playing out on the floor below."
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SHOOTOUT NEARLY UPSTAGES OBAMA - Howard Kurtz writes for The Daily Beast: "President Obama used his State of the Union to pivot back to the economy, saying he wants to protect 'senior citizens' and 'working families' from bearing the brunt of budget-cutting, but the Washington ritual was nearly overshadowed by a California crime drama. By the time Obama called for generating enough jobs for 'a thriving middle class' on Tuesday night, he found himself sharing the television stage as the cable news networks blanketed a shootout at Big Bear with accused cop-killer Christopher Dorner that left one police officer dead and another wounded. It was a split-screen moment reminiscent of Bill Clinton
delivering his 1997 State of the Union during the verdict in O.J. Simpson's civil trial-and all the more surreal since Obama talked about gun violence after the Big Bear cabin in which Dorner was hiding went up in flames."
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RUBIO REBUTTAL: NO FORTUNATE SON - Jonathan Martin writes for POLITICO: "His desperate need for a drink of water created the immediate headline, but Sen. Marco Rubio's (R-Fla.) much-anticipated speech Tuesday night had a very serious intent: It was as much an exercise in erasing Mitt Romney's legacy on the Republican Party as it was a traditional response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union address. The selection of Rubio to speak for his party marked the latest, and perhaps most overt, step in the GOP's rehabilitation project since Election Day, an effort to repackage its identity without altering its policies. And at four separate moments in his remarks, Rubio went to great
lengths to get the message across: The GOP isn't the party of rich white guys.

--"Right from the start, the 41-year-old Cuban-American stated bluntly that he was no senator's (or governor's) son. 'I didn't inherit any money from them,' Rubio said of his parents. 'But I inherited something far better - the real opportunity to accomplish my dreams. ... Mr. President, I still live in the same working-class neighborhood I grew up in ... My neighbors aren't millionaires. They're retirees who depend on Social Security and Medicare. They're workers who have to get up early tomorrow morning and go to work to pay the bills. They're immigrants, who came here because they were stuck in poverty in countries where the government dominated the economy.'"
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RUBIO'S WATER BREAK: THE GULP HEARD 'ROUND THE WORLD - Joel Siegel writes for the New York Daily News: "Thirsty for attention? Or just thirsty? ... It was supposed to be the moment that propelled Rubio into the top tier of potential presidential candidates. Instead, social media exploded with jokes after Rubio awkwardly paused, reached for a bottle of Poland Spring water and took a swig to douse a case of dry mouth. ,,, The Florida senator seemed to have a sense of humor about the viral moment. Late Tuesday night he tweeted a photo of the attention-grabbing bottle."
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LET ME EXPLAIN -- "I needed water, what am I going to do?" Rubio told ABC's "Good Morning America" on Wednesday. "God has a funny way of reminding us we're human."
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GIFs were online within minutes of Rubio's aqua lunge --
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TWITTER TRAFFIC - @PaulBegala: Marco Rubio: the man you want to have a desperate gulp of water with.

@AntDeRosa: Stay thirsty, Americans - Marco Rubio

@samsteinhp: Jesus walked on water. Rubio drank it #saviors (ok, done)

@darth: OK RT @jakebeckman: Someone photoshop Rubio on the poster for The Water Boy cc @darth thx
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In an attempt to poke fun at himself, Rubio tweeted out a pic of his water bottle -- @marcorubio: #GOPResponse #SOTU #gop #tcot
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And one of his advisers scored the prized possession: @dtoddharris: I am now the proud owner of the most famous bottle of water in American politics.
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RUBIO ROLLS OUT SCHOOL VOUCHER BILL -- Marc Caputo writes on A1 of the Miami Herald: "U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio immediately followed his rebuttal to the president's State of the Union address Tuesday night by releasing a 'school-choice' bill to allow taxpayers to subsidize private-school education for poor kids. By putting legislation where his mouth is, Rubio wanted to reinforce the theme of his speech - that conservative policy is good for the poor and working class."
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THE RAP ON RUBIO - New York Times columnist Maureen Dowd wasn't impressed by Rubio's performance - or his fluency in rap music: "Gangsta rap used to be a reliable issue for politicians, but they were denouncing it. Now Senator Marco Rubio of Florida is praising it - and right at the moment when Republicans are pushing the argument that guns don't kill people; it's a culture glorifying guns and violence that kills people.The ubiquitous 41-year-old - who's on the cover of Time as 'The Republican Savior' - looked as if he needed some saving himself Tuesday night as he delivered the party's response to the State of the Union address in English (and Spanish).

-- "He seemed parched, shaky and sweaty, rubbing his face and at one point lunging off-camera to grab a bottle of water. He needed some of the swagger reflected on the Spotify playlist he recently released, featuring Tupac's 'Changes,' as well as Flo Rida, Pitbull, The Sugar Hill Gang, Kanye, Big Sean, devoted Obama supporters Jay-Z and Will.I.Am, and a Foster the People song about 'a cowboy kid' who finds a gun in his dad's closet and goes after 'all the other kids with the pumped up kicks.'"
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RAND'S RESPONSE FULL OF RED MEAT - James Hohmann reports for POLITICO: "Rand Paul tackled gun control, drone strikes, immigration and - first and foremost - spending cuts in a blistering 'tea party' response to the President Barack Obama's State of the Union address. 'We will not let the liberals tread on the Second Amendment,' the Kentucky senator declared Tuesday night after Florida Sen. Marco Rubio finished delivering the official GOP response. The libertarian-leaning Republican then alluded to the controversy over the drone strike Obama ordered against Anwar al-Awlaki. 'We cannot and will not allow any president to act as if he were a king,' Paul said. 'We will not tolerate secret lists
of American citizens who can be killed without trial.' Rubio and Paul are both likely to run for president in 2016, but they played to very different bases Tuesday. Paul delivered a wide-ranging speech aimed at activists, chock full of criticism for both parties."
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GOOD WEDNESDAY MORNING, FEBRUARY 13, 2013, and welcome to The Huddle, your play-by-play preview of the day's congressional news. Send tips, suggestions, comments, complaints and corrections to swong@politico.com. If you don't already, please follow me on Twitter @scottwongDC.

My new followers include but are not limited to @KimberlyRailey and @RepJerryNadler.

TODAY IN CONGRESS - The Senate meets at 10 a.m. and could consider the nomination of former Sen. Chuck Hagel to be secretary of Defense. The Senate Finance Committee holds a hearing to consider the nomination of Jack Lew to be Treasury secretary, 10 a.m. in Dirksen 215.

The House is also in at 10 a.m. with first and last votes expected between 1 and 2 p.m. on the Federal Disaster Assistance Nonprofit Fairness Act and Hydropower Regulatory Efficiency Act.

AROUND THE HILL - House Democratic Caucus Chairman Xavier Becerra, Vice Chairman Joseph Crowley, and Rep. Mike Thompson hold a post-caucus media availability at 10 a.m. in theHVC-210 alcove. Also at 10 a.m., Speaker John Boehner and other GOP leaders hold a post-conference meeting availability in the RNC lobby.

Sens. Barbara Mikulski, Ben Cardin, Chuck Schumer and Kirsten Gillibrand speak about the Harret Tubman Historic Park legislation at 10:30 a.m. in SVC 208. Democratic Leader Nancy Pelosi and Whip Steny Hoyer speak on the Violence Against Women Act at 1 p.m. in HVC Studio A. Sens. Jon Tester and Rep. Chellie Pingree speak on legislation to help survivors of military sexual trauma at 1 p.m. in S-115. Sen. Jack Reed speaks on consumer protection at 2:30 p.m. in the Senate Studio.

Both Democratic and Republican leaders said they will dedicate a statue of civil rights icon Rosa Parks in Statuary Hall on Feb. 27.

BOEHNER'S SENATE FIRST STRATEGY - Jake Sherman and Manu Raju write for POLITICO: "The same House Republican majority that spent the entire past two years haranguing Senate Democrats for ignoring piles of legislation has a new strategy. Let the Senate act first - on nearly everything. Whether it's an overhaul of the nation's immigration laws, renewing the Violence Against Women Act or retooling gun regulations after mass shootings across the nation, House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) is perfectly fine with sitting on his hands. The House GOP's days of incessantly repealing President Barack Obama's health care overhaul are gone, as are their bills to eliminate obscure regulations.

-- "This 'Senate first' strategy allows a divided House to sit back and watch Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid (D-Nev.) struggleto wrangle votes in a chamber filled with vulnerable Democrats up for reelection in 2014. But it also carries substantial risks. If Senate Republicans join with Democrats and push through major elements of Obama's agenda, House Republicans could become isolated if they seek to dilute or block the legislative push."
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The NYT's Jeremy Peters reports: HAGEL NOM CLEARS COMMITTEE, BUT THINGS GET PERSONAL - "After a combative two-hour debate that tested the bounds of Senate collegiality, the Armed Services Committee on Tuesday approved the nomination of former Senator Chuck Hagel as defense secretary on a sharply partisan vote. The 14-to-11 vote to send the nomination to the Senate floor with a favorable recommendation was the latest step in a process that has deepened festering hostilities between Congressional Republicans and the White House and has exposed stark disagreements over wartime foreign policy. After the vote, Republicans threatened to try to filibuster the nomination of Mr. Hagel ... while
Democrats were promising to force a vote of the full Senate as early as Wednesday night.

-- "At times, the meeting slipped into an unusually accusatory and bitter back-and-forth, with Republicans like Ted Cruz, a freshman senator from Texas, going as far as to suggest that Mr. Hagel had accepted money from nations that oppose American interests. ... Senator Bill Nelson of Florida and other Democrats countered by saying that Republicans had unfairly questioned the integrity of both Mr. Hagel, a two-time Purple Heart recipient, and had undermined the work of the normally bipartisan committee itself. 'Senator Cruz has gone over the line,' Mr. Nelson said. 'He basically has impugned the patriotism of the nominee.' Senator John McCain, Republican of Arizona, who is opposing his
former colleague, also bristled at the attacks on Mr. Hagel, saying that 'no one on this committee should at any time impugn his character or his integrity.'"
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MENENDEZ'S BUSINESS AS USUAL APPROACH - John Bresnahan and Manu Raju report for POLITICO: "Embattled Sen. Robert Menendez is throwing himself into his new job as chairman of the Senate Foreign Relations Committee as he struggles to deflect attention from his own personal problems. Menendez briefed fellow Democrats in a closed-door session on Tuesday about North Korea's surprise nuclear test, an issue that has rattled the U.S. and foreign governments. He also met with Shehrbano Rehman, the Pakistani ambassador to the United States, to talk about American policy in Afghanistan. On Wednesday, Menendez will have coffee with United Nations Secretary General Ban Ki-moon. Over the weekend,
Menendez is leading a congressional delegation to Afghanistan and Pakistan. ...

--"At the same time, Menendez has been quietly meeting with some of his Democratic colleagues and party leaders to assure them that the scandal he's embroiled in - which centers on his ties to Florida eye surgeon Salomon Melgen, a close friend and big Democratic donor - won't interfere with his ability to do his new job. ... Yet both Democrats and Republicans - mainly in private - are wondering whether the New Jersey Democrat can succeed with his 'business-as-usual' approach to the scandal, which has threatened to derail his once-promising political career."
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-- Fox News reports that Menendez took an undisclosed trip on Salomon's plane back in 2008 to attend a charity golf tournament.
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NUGENT: I HAVE MORE SUPPORT THAN OBAMA - Kate Nocera reports for POLITICO: "Never one to shy away from speaking his mind, rocker Ted Nugent arrived on Capitol Hill for the State of the Union speech and promised to keep quiet. And he kept his promise, sitting silently in a corner of the visitors' gallery above the House floor. Nugent - a gun advocate and guest of Rep. Steve Stockman (R-Texas) - was so quiet, in fact, he didn't even applaud once during the entire speech. ... Nugent said the people who sat with him during the speech were those who 'lived by the same logic as the Nugent family.' 'People of the military, people of law enforcement, small business owners - everyone was in
agreement with Uncle Ted,' he said. As he left the gallery, Nugent was swarmed by fans wanting photos - and even one woman who yelled 'Run for president, Ted!' 'You hear that?' he said to a reporter. 'I have more support than the President at his own speech.'"
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TUESDAY'S TRIVIA WINNER - Aaron Merkin was first to correctly answer that "Yesterdays," composed in 1933, is the popular song standard that includes the lyric: 'Days I knew as happy sweet sequestered days.'

TODAY'S TRIVIA - Which former U.S. senator formed a foundation that raised funds to complete the stalled "Mountains and Clouds" sculpture that hangs in the Hart Senate Building? First to correctly answer gets a mention in the next day's Huddle. Email me at
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