- A new poll by USA Today/Pew Research shows that 22% of Americans consider themselves Republicans, a nearly record low. There is popular support for a minimum wage increase, immigration reform, and gun background checks.
- Sen. Bob Menendez’s approval rating has dropped 15 points in a month due to his recent scandal.
- Pentagon on sequester: 750,000 civilians would experience pay cuts of about 20 percent between late April and September.
- Prettier in print:
- TIME’s cover story by Steven Brill tackles the health care-industrial complex.
- Fareed Zakaria connects early-childhood education to economic mobility.
- As Karl Rove’s critics smell blood, the GOP strategist advises his party to avert the sequester by giving Obama more authority to move funds around in a continuing resolution.
- Can Presidents use drones against journalists?
- New Republic cover story: “Prudes have rarely done well” in the CIA.
Morning Must Reads: February 21
In the news: GOP's support dwindles, Menendez's approval rating plummets, Karl Rove, drones v. journalists, and CIA sex.