memeorandum: Romney blasts Obama, says ‘no decision’ on presidential bid (Matt Viser/Boston Globe)

8:50 AM ET, January 27, 2011

Top Items:

Alvin Felzenberg / US News:

Obama's State of the Union Was Tantamount to Plagiarism — If imitation is the sincerest form of flattery, what can be said of plagiarism? President Obama's second State of the Union address contained enough recycled ideas and lines lifted from speeches of others to make historians wince.

Discussion: Top of the Ticket, Betsy's Page, Blue Crab Boulevard, THE ASTUTE BLOGGERS and American Glob

NPR:

The State Of The Union, In Your Words — Right after President Barack Obama finished his State of the Union address, we asked our listeners to describe his speech in three words. We received responses from more than 4,000 of you. We've run them through a word cloud generator and this is what all of you said:

Discussion: Marbury, Tim Blair, Gawker, New York Magazine, Federal Eye and Wonkette

Nielsen Wire:

43 Million Watch President Obama's State of the Union Address — On Tuesday, January 25, 2011 President Obama delivered his State of the Union address. The address was carried live from approximately 9:00 PM- 10:15 PM on 11 networks. The sum of the average audience for those networks …

Discussion: Hot Air, About.com US Liberal Politics, TVbytheNumbers, Scared Monkeys and Washington Wire

Andy Barr / The Politico:

Sarah Palin on Barack Obama speech: ‘WTF’ — Former Alaska GOP Gov. Sarah Palin said Wednesday night that President Barack Obama's call for “winning the future” during his State of the Union address is best framed by the acronym it shares with a much different phrase — “wtf.”

Discussion: No More Mister Nice Blog, Rumproast, The Hill, Fox Nation, TPMDC, FrumForum and Althouse

Jim Hoft / The Gateway Pundit:

Whoa!... Sarah Palin on Obama's SOTU Speech: “WTF Was Spot-On... There Were a Lot of WTF Moments In That Speech” (Video) — Sarah Palin on Barack Obama's State of the Union Speech. — “His theme of WTF was spot-on.” — Sarah Palin on Barack Obama's State of the Union Address:

Discussion: iOwnTheWorld.com

Aleister / American Glob: Winning The Future... Something tells me this isn't what David Axelrod had in mind.

Wall Street Journal:
The Great Misallocators — What Barack Obama and General Electric have in common.

Discussion: The New Republic and The Foundry

Jana Winter / Fox News:

Celebrity Journalist: I Never Spoke to Hawaii Gov About Obama Birth Certificate — A celebrity journalist now claims he misspoke when he said last week that Hawaii's governor told him he was unable to find President Barack Obama's original birth certificate after a search of state and hospital archives.

Discussion: Sister Toldjah, Confederate Yankee, Clayton Cramer's Blog, Scared Monkeys, iOwnTheWorld.com, Mediaite, Patterico's Pontifications, The Daily Caller, Nice Deb, Daily Pundit, Fox Nation and WorldNetDaily

Michael O'Brien / The Hill:

Boehner: Saying retirement age needed to be raised was ‘mistake’ — House Speaker John Boehner (R-Ohio) said he “made a mistake” when he suggested raising the retirement age to 70 last year. — The Speaker indicated he was premature in suggesting raising the legal age at which retirees …

Discussion: CNN and ThinkProgress

Associated Press:
Social Security to Run Permanent Yearly Deficits

Discussion: Hot Air, RedState and Firedoglake

Washington Post:
A disappointing State of the Union address

Discussion: Commentary, Wall Street Journal, Pajamas Media, Top of the Ticket, Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion, Don Surber, New York Times and PostPartisan

Jennifer Rubin / Right Turn:

Rep. Paul Ryan 1, ObamaCare 0 — House Budget Committee Chairman Paul Ryan (R-Wisc.) held an important hearing on ObamaCare, showing just how important is the process for educating the public, and thereby setting defenders of ObamaCare back on their heels. — As he did last night …

Discussion: National Review

Associated Press:

Medicare official doubts health care law savings — WASHINGTON (AP) — Two of the central promises of President Barack Obama's health care overhaul law are unlikely to be fulfilled, Medicare's independent economic expert told Congress on Wednesday. — The landmark legislation probably …

Discussion: Betsy's Page, The Daily Caller, National Review, Scared Monkeys, Commentary, YID With LID, Hot Air, Viking Pundit and Pajamas Media

Sewell Chan / New York Times:

Dissenters Fault Report on Crisis in Finance — WASHINGTON — The government commission's account of what caused the 2008 financial crisis offers a broad indictment of regulatory weakness, Wall Street avarice and corporate incompetence. But that narrative is competing with alternative views …

Discussion: KeithHennessey.com, ourfuture.org/blogs_chrono/* and The Big Picture

Wall Street Journal:
What Caused the Financial Crisis?

Discussion: KeithHennessey.com and Economist's View

Bill Keller / New York Times:

Dealing With Assange and the Secrets He Spilled — This past June, Alan Rusbridger, the editor of The Guardian, phoned me and asked, mysteriously, whether I had any idea how to arrange a secure communication. Not really, I confessed. The Times doesn't have encrypted phone lines, or a Cone of Silence.

Discussion: Threat Level, Balloon Juice, Runnin' Scared, Gawker, The Awl, Prairie Weather and The Daily Beast, more at Mediagazer »

ABCNEWS:

Sen. Harry Reid Says Earmarks Will Return, Despite Obama's State of the Union Vow — Senate Democratic Leader Concedes GOP Can Force Health Care Repeal Vote — Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid told ABC News that earmarks will return to Capitol Hill despite President Obama's vow …

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, CNN, Hot Air, Daily Kos, Liberty Pundits Blog and The Hill

Paul Kane / Washington Post:
Senate nears approval of filibuster changes

Discussion: The Huffington Post and The Hill

Ben Armbruster / ThinkProgress:
Rep. Broun Says Obama, Pelosi, & Reid Want Gov't To Take Over ‘All Of Society’

Discussion: Mediaite, AOL News and Daily Kos

Sabrina Eaton / Plain Dealer:

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.

Discussion: Booman Tribune, Outside the Beltway, Pajamas Media and FrumForum

Gawker:
Dennis Kucinich Sues Congressional Cafeteria Over Olive Pit

Discussion: Salon, Wonkette, Courthouse News Service, Law Blog, Raw Story, CNN, Washington Post, FishbowlDC and Overlawyered

W. Thomas Smith Jr / Human Events:

Bill Aimed at Protecting S.C. From Foreign Law Introduced in Legislature — COLUMBIA, S.C. - A legislative initiative aimed at preventing “a court or other enforcement authority” from enforcing foreign law in the Palmetto State was introduced today in both the S.C. House and Senate by Rep. Wendy Nanney …

Discussion: Mother Jones, HillBuzz.org, Weasel Zippers and Ben Smith's Blog

Jason Millman / The Hill:

HHS grants 500 new healthcare waivers — A week after Republicans announced plans to investigate waivers granted to organizations for healthcare reform provisions, President Obama's health department made public new waivers for more than more than 500 groups.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers

Brian Donohue / New Jersey Online:

Slopes behind ropes: fear of lawsuits closing great New Jersey sledding hills … It's one of the simple, most wonderful pleasures of life: zooming down a snow-covered hill just fast enough for a touch of fear to quicken your pulse. Maybe it's a solo run. Maybe you're clinging to a loved one as you tear down the hill tandem.

Discussion: Outside the Beltway, Maggie's Farm and ProfessorBainbridge.com

Manu Raju / The Politico:

Senate Tea Party: Members wanted — Tea party activists may have dramatically reshaped the national political landscape last year, but the Senate's tea party movement could fit in the backseat of a cab. — The Tea Party Caucus is scheduled to hold its first official meeting Thursday …

Jillian Rayfield / TPM LiveWire:
Matthews Yells At Tea Party Leader: Why Is ‘Balloon-Head’ Bachmann Speaking For You

Discussion: The Reality-Based Community, Mediaite and Politics Daily

Jon Walker / Firedoglake:

After Failing to Change Senate Rules, Democrats Lose Right to Blame Mitch McConnell — Senate Democrats must blame themselves now, rather than Mitch McConnell. — Senate Democrats had an opportunity to get together and make the Senate a working, majority-rule-based chamber.

Carlos Lozano / L.A. NOW:

Border authorities arrest controversial Muslim cleric east of San Diego — U.S. border authorities have arrested a controversial Muslim cleric who was deported from Canada to Tunisia three years ago and was caught earlier this month trying to sneak into California inside the trunk of a BMW, according to court documents.

Discussion: Weasel Zippers, AOL News, The Gateway Pundit, Jihad Watch and The Jawa Report

Reid Forgrave / Des Moines Register:

Angle comes to Iowa, doesn't rule out presidential bid — Tea Party favorite Sharron Angle of Nevada descended upon the movie premiere of a conservative Christian movie in Johnston tonight, and she wouldn't say that she was running for president. — But she wouldn't say that she wasn't.

Discussion: The Fix, Ballot Box, The Politico, Hot Air and GOP 12

Matt Viser / Boston Globe:

Romney blasts Obama, says ‘no decision’ on presidential bid — WASHINGTON - Former Governor Mitt Romney tonight blasted President Obama, going after him using a line of attack that opponents have utilized before: competency for the job. — “He's trying awfully hard,” …

Paul Kengor / American Thinker:

The 40-Percent President: Obama's Cruise to Reelection — We're at the halfway mark of Barack Obama's first term as president. I say “first term” because I'm confident that this isn't his last. Conservatives will not want to hear this, but I've felt all along that Obama will be a two-term president …

Discussion: Israpundit

Reuters:

Goldman Sachs Got Billions From AIG For Its Own Account, Crisis Panel Finds … Goldman Sachs collected $2.9 billion from the American International Group as payout on a speculative trade it placed for the benefit of its own account, receiving the bulk of those funds after AIG received …

Discussion: naked capitalism

Michelle Malkin:

The real snow job in D.C.: Obamacare waivers skyrocket to 729 + 4 states; 4 new SEIU waiver winners — The nation's capital is freaking out over a winter snowstorm. — But everyone else should be up in arms over the real snow job in Washington this week.

Discussion: Hot Air and HillBuzz.org

Megan McArdle / The Atlantic Online:

U.S. Budget Deficit to Pass $1.5 Trillion This Year — “Grim” doesn't seem to be a terrifying enough word to describe the budget outlook that the CBO released Wednesday. Oh, sure, we sort of knew this was coming—tax cuts are expensive if you don't find spending cuts to match.