Steve Clemons, 01/06/13

Publisher, 'The Washington Note'

The bottom line: Chuck Hagel kept the facility open and expanded it when he was restructuring and shifting priorities inside the USO to keep it alive. If Hagel had had a deep anti-Israel bias, others would have seen it and reported it.

Richard (RJ) Eskow, 01/06/13

Writer; host, 'The Breakdown'; Senior Fellow, Campaign for America's Future

Three public figures associated with the movement to cut government spending appeared in the news this week. All three characters -- the Senator, the Lobbyist, and the Economist -- have encouraged steep cuts in government spending. But only one of them is going to heaven. Which one?

Wadah Khanfar, 01/06/13

Journalist; President, Sharq Forum

The United States, the western powers and some Arab states would push for a (moderate ) Syrian regime. That is to say, one that is far-removed from the Islamic movement, not hostile toward Israel and close to the West.

Rick Jacobs, 01/07/13

Chair of the 750,000-member Courage Campaign

I hope the Senate will take up Chuck Hagel's nomination immediately and that he will be confirmed without the usual Washington political games. We could do with a few more Chuck Hagels and many fewer ideological martinets. Approve him and move on.

HuffPost Radio, 01/06/13

Eliot Spitzer & Torie Clarke debate the Cliff deal and guns after Newtown. Should blame fall on Washington or on voters who want to spend 24 percent of GDP while only paying 16 percent in taxes and since many also "cling" to a two century near-religious belief in their muskets?

Roger Hickey, 01/06/13

Co-Director, Campaign for America's Future

Republicans can get their way only if Democrats fail to realize they have the American people on their side. And once Republicans are clear about their proposals, Americans turn against them.

Joe Peyronnin, 01/06/13

Hofstra Journalism Professor

No wonder Congress is so unpopular. Last year's House and Senate teamed up to be the most ineffective Congress in decades. Sadly, the new Congress looks like it is going to underperform its predecessor.

James Moore, 01/06/13

Best selling author, Director of Progress Texas PAC

As Governor Rick Perry was preparing to run for the GOP presidential nomination, he pushed the legislature to approve a $5.4 billion budget cut in Texas education. His transparent goal was political, and simply to build upon a no tax reputation, which, unsurprisingly, came at the expense of school children.

Michael Moore, 01/05/13

Oscar and Emmy-winning director

You might have seen that on Monday President Obama will likely nominate former Sen. Chuck Hagel to be Secretary of Defense. But what you probably haven't seen -- because everyone has forgotten -- is that back in 2007, Hagel went totally crazy and told the truth about our invasion of Iraq.

Tom Gerdy, 01/06/13

Building contractor

At this point in our history, I am certain the country would be listed in realtor's terms as a "fixer-upper" or a "handyman special." This country might not have a long history compared with others around the world, but it has a strong one.

Gary Hart, 01/04/13

President, Hart International, Ltd.

Disaster relief, including for Hurricane Sandy, is government spending. It is no worse, but also no better, than meals on wheels for the elderly, school breakfast for poor children, unemployment compensation and rent subsidies. All are government spending and all are "about human beings."

David Coates, 01/05/13

Worrell Professor of Anglo-American Studies, Wake Forest University, Department of Politics

This country desperately needs a progressive tidal wave in November 2014, and you don't get tidal waves without first creating the headwind that drives them. It is time for that driving to begin.

Robert Naiman, 01/04/13

Policy Director, Just Foreign Policy

Why not Paul Krugman? He has a Nobel prize in Economics. He's proven his ability to communicate economic knowledge to the multitude. And he's a fierce opponent of cuts to Social Security and Medicare benefits, and the austerity dogma more generally.

Geoffrey R. Stone, 01/05/13

Edward H. Levi Distinguished Service Professor of Law, University of Chicago

Those who want to see more rational gun laws in the United States have to do more than complain about the NRA. We have to ask ourselves: Do we care enough about this issue to DO something about it?

Don Kraus, 01/06/13

President and CEO, GlobalSolutions.org

The Arms Trade Treaty is a common-sense measure that would make it more difficult for weapons to be sold on the black market and halt the flow of weapons to dangerous regimes. Yet the NRA has gone on record saying the treaty will threaten Americans' rights to bear arms.

Rep. David Cicilline, 01/06/13

U.S. Representative for Rhode Island's First Congressional District

While there is no perfect solution that will eliminate all gun crimes, there are many things we can do to significantly reduce the danger of guns getting into the hands of criminals and the mentally ill, as well as restricting the sale of particularly deadly weapons and ammunition.

Mike Lux, 01/04/13

Co-Founder, Democracy Partners

President Obama knows he can't afford to blink, and progressives should back him 100 percent: no negotiation whatsoever on the debt ceiling.