memeorandum: States' Lawmakers Turn Attention to the Dangers of Distracted Pedestrians (New York Times)

11:00 AM ET, January 26, 2011

Top Items:

The Politics of Evasion — If you were a visitor from Mars, watching tonight's State of the Union address and Paul Ryan's Republican response, you would have no reason to think that the looming insolvency of our entitlement system lies at the heart of the economic challenges facing the United States over the next two decades.

Discussion: Washington Monthly, Paul Krugman, TalkLeft, National Review, Connecting.the.Dots and FrumForum

Budget Committee:

Remarks of Congressman Paul Ryan (R-WI) - As Prepared for Delivery — Good evening. I'm Congressman Paul Ryan from Janesville, Wisconsin - and Chairman here at the House Budget Committee. — President Obama just addressed a Congressional chamber filled with many new faces.

Discussion: Paul Krugman, Right Turn, New York Times, Achenblog, Guardian, No More Mister Nice Blog, msnbc.com, Taylor Marsh, The Gateway Pundit, Firedoglake, Daily Kos, Pundit Press, Hot Air and Nice Deb

Joan Walsh / Salon:

Why does the GOP hide its agenda? — Ryan stays mum about his budget-busting “Roadmap” while Bachmann peddles debunked myths in rebutting Obama's SOTU — Prepared for President Obama to give a “centrist” State of the Union address to prove he can work with intransigent Republicans, I was pleasantly surprised.

Discussion: The Politico, Alan Colmes' Liberaland, Daily Kos and TPMDC

The Note:

The Note: Obama's Speech Puts GOP In A Corner — President Obama put Republicans in something of a box last night. He oozed optimism, telling Americans in the last moments of his speech that, “From the earliest days of our founding, America has been the story of ordinary people who dare to dream.

Discussion: Ballot Box and msnbc.com

Erik Wasson / The Hill:
CBO: Deficit widened to $1.5 trillion this year

Discussion: The Note

New York Times:
Obama's Second State of the Union (Text)

Discussion: Mother Jones, Slate, Newshoggers.com, The Foundry, Don Surber, rubber hose, The Caucus, Guardian, The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Opinion L.A. and Top of the Ticket

Myglesias / Yglesias: Paul Ryan's Evasion

Paul Krugman:
The Ryan Response — ... was as bad as you might expect.

Discussion: Crooks and Liars, The Huffington Post, Prairie Weather and Guardian

Gallup:
Americans Oppose Cuts in Education, Social Security, Defense

Discussion: The Hill and Top of the Ticket

Lucy Madison / CBS News:

Poll: High Marks for Obama's State of the Union Speech — An overwhelming majority of Americans approved of President Obama's overall message in his State of the Union on Tuesday night, according to a CBS News Poll of speech watchers. — According to the poll, which was conducted online …

Gschwarzcnn / CNN:

CNN Poll: More than half of speech watchers have very positive reaction — Washington (CNN) - A majority of Americans who watched President Obama's State of the Union address said they had a very positive reaction to his speech, according to a poll of people who viewed Tuesday night's address.

Discussion: greenbergresearch.com, Mother Jones, ABCNEWS, Israpundit, Politics Daily, The Politico, The Moderate Voice, Daily Kos and Guardian

Alexander Burns / The Politico:

Obama wins SOTU insta-polls - Sabato unveils ‘Pendulum Swing’ - Toner: Republicans must raise half-billion - Iowa GOP leader touts Newt - Romney dines with Christie - Florida Dems circle Rivera seat — THE REVIEWS ARE IN - SNAP POLL FROM CBS: “An overwhelming majority of Americans approved …

Discussion: Taegan Goddard's …

Eric Ostermeier / Smart Politics:
A Content Analysis of Barack Obama's 2011 State of the Union Address

Discussion: Swampland and Hot Air

Chris Cillizza / The Fix:
First thoughts on President Obama's State of the Union Speech

Discussion: The New Republic and Guardian

Newsweek:
Why No One Will Watch the State of the Union

Discussion: Opinion L.A., Blue Crab Boulevard, Liberty Pundits Blog and Don Surber

Carol E. Lee / The Politico:
National Journal leaks SOTU early

Discussion: ABCNEWS, Talking Points Memo and The Note

CNN:

Bachmann calls for full repeal of ‘Obamacare’ — Washington (CNN) — Rep. Michele Bachmann, R-Minnesota, responded to President Obama's State of the Union speech on Tuesday night from the Tea Party Express headquarters. Here is a transcript of Bachmann's speech. — Bachmann: Good evening.

Discussion: The Informer, Guardian, AMERICAblog Elections, Swampland, Crooks and Liars, The Moderate Voice, The Gateway Pundit and Minneapolis Star Tribune

Lbentzterp / CNN:

Bachmann back to Iowa in March — Washington (CNN) - Michele Bachmann's heading back to Iowa. — The Republican congresswoman from neighboring Minnesota, who says she's considering a bid for the 2012 GOP presidential nomination, will attend the March 23 Network of Iowa Christian Home Educators home-school …

Discussion: GOP 12 and Des Moines Register

Keach Hagey / The Politico:

Michele Bachmann's turn — Rep. Michele Bachmann may fall into that media-savvy cadre of politicians who, as the saying goes, has never met a camera she didn't like, but Tuesday night many Americans got the impression she was talking into the wrong camera. — Bachmann delivered …

Discussion: Politics Daily, The Caucus, Mediaite, AOL News and FrumForum

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Axelrod mocks Tea Party response: ‘Am I looking at the right camera?’ — A top White House adviser gently mocked the Tea Party response to the State of the Union delivered by Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) on Tuesday night. — White House senior adviser David Axelrod joked …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Matt Schneider / Mediaite:
Chris Matthews Yells At Tea Partier: Why Is ‘Balloon-Head’ …

Discussion: Big Journalism, nancynall.com and Lez Get Real

Marissa Calhoun / CNN:
Bachmann's Response to State of the Union

Discussion: The Politico and Pam's House Blend

National Journal:

EXCLUSIVE: Obama to Declare ‘The Rules Have Changed’ — Full text of speech draft obtained by National Journal — President Obama speaks to both houses of Congress during his first State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol on January 27, 2010. — Insisting bipartisanship …

The White House:

Remarks of President Barack Obama in State of the Union Address — As Prepared for Delivery State of the Union Address, Washington, DC — Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, distinguished guests, and fellow Americans: — Tonight I want to begin by congratulating the men …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, The Nation, New York Times, Felix Salmon, A plain blog about politics, New York Times, News Hounds, Wall Street Journal and The Blotter

Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn:

Where was Obama the centrist in his State of the Union? — If you were expecting a moderate Obama or a bold Obama, you were disappointed, most likely, by Tuesday's State of the Union Address. In a nutshell: Obama proposed a ton of new domestic spending, promised to freeze discretionary spending …

Discussion: The Politico, National Review, CNN, Althouse, The Daily Caller, GayPatriot, Power Line, Right Wing News, American Power and The New Republic

Directorblue / Doug Ross:
Barack Obama's State of the Union speech in 90 seconds [Biff Spackle]

Discussion: Nice Deb, Left Coast Rebel, Pundit & Pundette, The Moderate Voice and Betsy's Page

Political Correction RSS:

Fact Checking Rep. Bachmann's “Tea Party Response” To The State Of The Union — Insisting that she was not upstaging the official GOP response to President Obama's State of the Union, Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-MN) offered a combative and highly misleading speech of her own following the president's address.

Discussion: Washington Monthly

Political Correction RSS: Fact Checking Rep. Ryan's State Of The Union Response

New York Times:

Good News From the Middle East (Really) — IT has lately become the accepted wisdom that the Middle East peace process is dead, finished, kaput. This belief has been reinforced by Al Jazeera's release this week of some 1,600 documents that are said to describe the inside workings of Israeli-Palestinian negotiations in 2008.

Discussion: Ben Smith's Blog and The Atlantic Online

Osama Hamdan / Guardian:
The Palestinian cause has been betrayed. But no more

Discussion: Just Journalism, Robin Shepherd Online and Harry's Place

Guardian:
Letters: Israel critics should respect my decision

Discussion: normblog, Commentary, Harry's Place, Just Journalism and Firedoglake

Times of India:

Egypt president's son, family flee to Britain — CAIRO: Egyptian president Hosni Mubarak's son, who is considered as his successor, has fled to Britain along with his family, a US-based Arabic website reported. — The plane with Gamal Mubarak, his wife and daughter on board left …

Discussion: Informed Comment, Guardian, The Atlantic Online, The Moderate Voice and Israel Matzav

New York Times:
After Day of Protests, Egypt Bans New Rallies

Discussion: AOL News, CANNONFIRE, FrumForum and Guardian, more at Techmeme »

Bob Unruh / WorldNetDaily:

Game-changer! Arizona to pass 2012 eligibility law — Obama will have to produce birth certificate to run again — It could be a game-changer. — A plan in Arizona to require presidential candidates to prove their eligibility to occupy the Oval Office is approaching critical mass, even though it has just been introduced.

Discussion: HillBuzz.org, Weasel Zippers and Vox Popoli

Agence France Presse:

Blair sister-in-law wants him tried for Iraq crimes — KUALA LUMPUR — Former prime minister Tony Blair's sister-in-law Lauren Booth, a rights campaigner and Muslim convert, said on Wednesday that he should be tried for war crimes over the invasion of Iraq.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, Jihad Watch and JammieWearingFool

Ben Smith / Ben Smith's Blog:

Dear commenters, Steve Doocy is reading — One of the themes of the Esquire profile of Roger Ailes, with which Ailes cooperated, is that Ailes reads ever word written about him. — You might think that was an exaggeration. But apparently he does, or someone over on Sixth Avenue does.

Discussion: Swampland, Esquire and Balloon Juice, more at Mediagazer »

Jordan Fabian / The Hill:

Rep. Broun to Obama: ‘You believe in socialism’ — GOP Rep. Paul Broun (Ga.) rebuked President Obama using perhaps the sharpest language among his Republican colleagues following the State of the Union address Tuesday night. — Broun took to Twitter during the address, accusing the president of believing in socialism.

Discussion: ThinkProgress, Weasel Zippers, TPMDC, FrumForum and Daily Kos