Justice Alito mouths ‘not true’  —  POLITICO's Kasie Hunt, who's in the House chamber, reports that Justice Samuel Alito mouthed the words “not true” when President Barack Obama criticized the Supreme Court's campaign finance decision.  —  “Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century …

Poll: 83% of Speech Watchers Approve of Obama's State of the Union Proposals  —  CBS News conducted an instant poll with Knowledge Networks immediately following President Obama's State of the Union address.  Here are some of the highlights:  —  • 83% of speech watchers approve …

MSNBC's Matthews On Obama: “I Forgot He Was Black Tonight”  —  MSNBC's Chris Matthews calls President Obama “post-racial.”  UPDATE: Matthews Clarifies His “Black” Comment

Howard Zinn, historian who challenged status quo, dies at 87  —  Howard Zinn, the Boston University historian and political activist who was an early opponent of US involvement in Vietnam and a leading faculty critic of BU president John Silber, died of a heart attack today in Santa Monica …

Scientists in stolen e-mail scandal hid climate data  —  Ben Webster, Environment Editor, and Jonathan Leake  —  The university at the centre of the climate change row over stolen e-mails broke the law by refusing to hand over its raw data for public scrutiny.

Election 2010: Wisconsin Senate  —  Wisconsin Senate: Thompson 47%, Feingold 43%  —  One more Democratic senator who has long been regarded as a safe prospect for reelection may be facing a challenging year in 2010.  —  A new Rasmussen Reports telephone survey of likely voters …

Campbell, Whitman Make Close Races in California  —  A new PPIC Poll in California shows Tom Campbell (R) has emerged as the early leader in the Republican U.S. Senate race.  Campbell leads among likely voters in the GOP primary with 27%, while 16% support Carly Fiorina (R) and 8% favor Chuck DeVore.

2 NY Dems: No 9/11 Trial in City  —  On the heels of Mayor Bloomberg's flip-flop today over trying Sept. 11 mastermind Khalid Shaikh Mohammed and four henchmen in New York City, two prominent Democratic lawmakers from the state are telling Team Obama to hold the trial elsewhere.

Populism: Just Like Racism! … Normally one would have to be in the grip of a narcissistic psychosis to think that a columnist for the New York Times has written an article for your personal benefit.  But after his latest article in the Times, in which he compares the “populism” of people who …

Hackers Hit House Websites  —  Hackers struck at least 10 House websites overnight, substituting expletives aimed at Pres. Obama just hours after his State of the Union address.  —  The hackers targeted many House Dem freshmen, including Reps. Ben Ray Lujan (D-NM), Harry Teague (D-NM) …

Giannoulias leads Kirk in poll  —  In a reminder that contested primaries can be a good thing Alexi Giannoulias has jumped out to a 42-34 lead over Mark Kirk in the race to be Illinois' next Senator.  When PPP last looked at such a match up in April the two were tied at 35.

Tim Geithner's honorable unpopularity  —  David Cho has a nice piece today talking to Timothy Geithner about why nobody likes him.  Geithner's explanation is convincing, so far as it goes: He held office at a time when the right things to do were also unpopular to do.

Backlash on W.H.'s backroom deals  —  A top House committee responded to the mounting voter backlash against backroom deals on health reform by seeking more information Wednesday about White House negotiations with industry groups.  —  Hours before President Barack Obama delivered his State …

Obama's Dull, Cheap, Successful Speech  —  President Obama's speeches have always been notable for both their exquisite prose and their unusually high intellectual level.  Tonight's speech, while probably as effective as such speeches can be, was neither.  —  The dropoff between rhetoric penned …

United We Rant  —  My fellow Americans, the state of the union is angry.  Also strong.  Presidents usually say the state of the union is strong.  But this year you would have to go with strongly angry.  —  In his speech on Wednesday night, President Obama actually dropped that traditional state …

Obama Resonates with Swing Voters  —  In his first State of the Union address tonight, Barack Obama demonstrated a clear understanding of the problems facing the country and outlined a path forward that swing voters want to see their members of Congress follow.

WHY TAMPER WITH LANDRIEU'S PHONES?  —  From NBC's Pete Williams  —  A law enforcement official says the four men arrested for attempting to tamper with the phones in the New Orleans office of Sen. Mary Landrieu (D) were not trying to intercept or wiretap the calls.

Where Was the Narrative?  —  There's no law requiring that State of the Union addresses be dull, overlong lists of provisions and proposals, but it has certainly come to seem that way.  —  When it comes to State of the Union addresses, the opinions of the chattering classes are usually wrong.

Bob McDonnell's GOP Response: Full Text  —  Virginia Governor Bob McDonnell's Republican Address to the Nation Following Obama's State of the Union Address  —  (CBS) Immediately following President Obama's State of the Union address, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell will deliver the Republican response.