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.

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 …

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.

Rep. Dennis Kucinich sues cafeteria over olive pit in sandwich  —  Rep. Dennis Kucinich has sued a U.S. House of Representatives cafeteria for selling him a sandwich wrap that caused dental damage when he bit into an olive pit, according to a Jan. 3 lawsuit filed in Superior Court for the District of Columbia.

Shiny Lazy People  —  A few further thoughts about the Ryan response to the SOTU, which was deeply revealing.  —  Again, let me focus first on this passage: … Imagine yourself in Ryan's position.  You've been chosen by one of America's two great political parties to respond to the president of the United States.