Top Items:
Michael Gerson / Washington Post:
The Jindal Phenomenon — Louisiana Gov. Bobby Jindal — selected to deliver the Republicans' Fat Tuesday response to President Obama — might also be voted the man least likely to let the good times roll. Slight, earnest, deeply religious and supremely wonkish, Jindal resembles neither …
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Ace / Ace of Spades HQ:
Jindal's Response... Awful. He walked out like an earnest dork and has a weird inflection, trying to sound upbeat and sunny when it's clearly not his natural metier. It sounds false, and he looks false. — I don't care how much of a star Jindal is, America doesn't elect somewhat-off dorks as president.
Andy Barr / The Politico:
Jindal's response: Panned, seared — Gov. Bobby Jindal (R-La.) hoped to step into the national spotlight Tuesday night to sound a hopeful yet defiant note in countering President Barack Obama as the GOP's fresh and exciting face. — Instead, he got panned.
Discussion:
MSNBC, Washington Post, Washington Monthly, The Caucus, The Note, USA Today, Blogs and Stories and AMERICAblog News
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Full text of Obama's speech to Congress and the nation — Here is the text of President Obama's first address to a joint session of Congress, as released by the White House moments ago: — Madame Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, and the First Lady of the United States:
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Political Byline, Left in the West, Hot Air, Newshoggers.com, QandO, Firedoglake, CBS News, Instapundit, Guardian, TalkLeft, The Caucus, The Note, JustOneMinute and Stop The ACLU
Ian Schwartz / Video:
MSNBCer Says “Oh God” Before Jindal Response
MSNBCer Says “Oh God” Before Jindal Response
Discussion:
Jon Swift, Toby Harnden's blog listings, Scared Monkeys, Michael Calderone's Blogs and Copious Dissent
Andrew Malcolm / Top of the Ticket:
Full text of Gov. Bobby Jindal's Republican response
Full text of Gov. Bobby Jindal's Republican response
Discussion:
Washington Monthly, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Ross Douthat, The Swamp, The Moderate Voice, MoJo Blog Posts, Kansas City Star, Media Matters for America, CNN, Associated Press, Sadly, No!, Scientific American, PoliBlog, KIKO'S HOUSE, The Washington Independent, FiveThirtyEight.com, Michelle Malkin and The Next Right
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
Kenneth Jindal — Close your eyes and think of Kenneth from 30 Rock.
Kenneth Jindal — Close your eyes and think of Kenneth from 30 Rock.
Brian Montopoli / CBS News:
Poll: Positive Reception For Obama Address — UPDATED WITH FINAL RESULTS CBS News and Knowledge Networks held a nationally representative poll of 534 people who watched President Obama give his address to Congress to gauge their reaction in the minutes after the president's speech.
Discussion:
Democracy Corps, Pollster.com, Real Clear Politics, Dr. Sanity, Democratic Strategist and The Raw Story
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Alan Silverleib / CNN:
Analysis: Obama takes ‘morning in America’ mantle — WASHINGTON (CNN) — President Barack Obama addressed Congress shortly after 9 p.m. Tuesday, but a casual viewer might have believed it was actually morning in America. — “Morning in America” was the theme of Ronald Reagan's 1984 re-election campaign …
The Politico:
What Obama really meant — President Obama's maiden speech to Congress was loaded with durable lines, many aimed with precision at specific audiences or political objectives. As is often the case, the most memorable lines were often written with subtlety and delicacy to keep the speech above petty politics and blame-casting.
John Bresnahan / The Politico:
Byrd: Obama in power grab — Sen. Robert Byrd (D-W.Va.), the longest serving Democratic senator, is criticizing President Obama's appointment of White House “czars” to oversee federal policy, saying these executive positions amount to a power grab by the executive branch.
Lynnley Browning / New York Times:
Group of Rich Americans Sues UBS to Keep Names Secret in Tax Case — UBS was sued on Tuesday in a Swiss federal court by wealthy American clients seeking to prevent the disclosure of their identities as part of a tax-evasion investigation by the United States Justice Department.
Sandra Sobieraj Westfall / People.com:
Michelle Obama: White House Dog Coming Soon! — Michelle and Barack Obama with daughters Malia, left, and Sasha — The whole world, it seems, wants to know: What kind of dog are the Obamas getting and, for goodness sake, when? — Speaking to PEOPLE at the White House recently …
Marianne Lavelle / The Center for Public Integrity:
The Climate Change Lobby Explosion — WILL THOUSANDS OF LOBBYISTS IMPERIL ACTION ON GLOBAL WARMING? — In his address to a joint session of Congress, President Barack Obama pledged nothing less than a transformation in the way America uses energy in order to “save our planet from the ravages …
Reuters:
Wall St. drops after data, banks fall — NEW YORK (Reuters) - Stocks added to losses on Wednesday after data showed the pace of existing home sales unexpectedly fell in January, while bank shares slid on continuing worries over the fate of the sector. — The tone was set early …
William Kristol / PostPartisan:
Not a War President — What can we learn from the few sentences President Obama devoted to foreign policy in his speech to Congress tonight? — The main lesson is how very few the sentences were. Yes, this was a speech focused on the economy. But it was also Obama's first address to Congress …
Minneapolis Star Tribune:
Setbacks for Coleman grow at Senate recount trial — Attorneys for Norm Coleman conferred Tuesday during the recount trial in St. Paul. Tony Trimble is at left, Ben Ginsberg is at right and Joe Friedberg has his back to the camera. — Judges allowed marks to be removed and heard other ballots were properly rejected.
Discussion:
TIME.com
Gabriel Schoenfeld / Wall Street Journal:
Obama's Intelligence Choice — The president picks a China apologist and Israel basher to write his intelligence summaries. — During the presidential campaign, a constant refrain of Barack Obama and other Democratic candidates was that the Bush administration had severely politicized intelligence …
Discussion:
The New Republic, Weekly Standard, Mondoweiss, The Nation, Watchdog Blog, Fox News, Commentary and Yourish.com
Conor Clarke / The Atlantic Politics Channel:
America invented everything — Two of Obama's claims from the SOTU: … and … After a period of prolonged study and meditation (ie, I consulted Wikipedia for 45 minutes after the speech), I have concluded that these claims are questionable at best and false at worst.
Discussion:
Fausta's Blog
Walter Alarkon / The Hill:
Some Dems balk at controversial budget maneuver — A growing group of Senate Democrats said they would oppose the use of budget process rules to ram climate change legislation and other hot-button items past Republican filibusters. — The group, which includes Sens. Robert Byrd (W.Va.) …
Discussion:
Matthew Yglesias
Chas Sisk / Tennessean.com:
Tennessee may reject stimulus aid for jobless — Bredesen balks at conditions tied to federal package, long-term costs — Tennessee could reject a portion of the $787 billion economic stimulus package out of concerns that it would force the state to raise taxes on businesses in the future.
Lane Hudson / The Huffington Post:
United Pilot Insults Sully — I just flew on United Airlines Flight 918 from Dulles to Heathrow. Once we reached cruising altitude, the pilot interrupted the display of airspeed, altitude, and temperature on the backs of the seat in front of passengers. What I expected to be the usual welcome …
Byron York / Beltway Confidential:
“A Major Doctrinal Shift for Republicans” — Chief Political Correspondent — I just got off the phone with a very plugged-in Republican strategist who told me that Republican reaction to President Obama's speech, which the party will roll out in the next few days, will mark the beginning …
Marcus Stern / ProPublica:
Corruption Touched CIA's Covert Operations — Paramilitary agents for the CIA's super-secret Special Activities Division, or SAD, perform raids, ambushes, abductions and other difficult chores overseas, including infiltrating countries to “light up” targets from the ground for air-to-ground missile strikes.
Harold Meyerson / Washington Post:
Another Star in Chicago — In March of 2004, a few days before the Illinois Democratic senatorial primary, I wrote a column for this page headlined “A Bright Hope in Illinois.” It was, I believe, the first column for a daily newspaper outside Illinois devoted to a rising young pol named Barack Obama.