Top Items:
Katie Glueck / Politico:
Marco Rubio's drinking problem — Twitter exploded during Sen. Marco Rubio's Republican response to the State of the Union, as the Florida senator appeared a little sweaty and dry-mouthed at mid-speech, taking an awkward swig from a bottle of water that had been placed off-camera.
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Paul Krugman:
Marco Rubio Has Learned Nothing — Because his party has learned nothing. — OK, back up: this morning the papers and the web are full of nuance-sniffing, as people try to find omens in the SOTU and the GOP response. I don't think I can add anything useful to all that.
Andrew Kaczynski / BuzzFeed:
Everyone On Twitter Made The Exact Same Joke About Marco Rubio's Water Break — The fall of western civilization is complete.
Discussion:
The Fix and Crooks and Liars
Kevin Cirilli / Politico:
Marco Rubio: ‘I needed water’
Marco Rubio: ‘I needed water’
Discussion:
msnbc.com, Althouse and NewsHounds blog
Catalina Camia / Associated Press:
Rubio's sip of water lights up Twitter
Rubio's sip of water lights up Twitter
Discussion:
The Daily Caller, CBS News, First Read, msnbc.com, Twitchy and Politico
Joel Siegel / NY Daily News:
Thirsty Sen. Marco Rubio makes waves with awkward grab for water
Thirsty Sen. Marco Rubio makes waves with awkward grab for water
Discussion:
The Daily Currant
New York Times:
Obama's 2013 State of the Union Address — The following is the text as prepared for delivery of President Obama's State of the Union Address, as provided by the White House: — PRESIDENT OBAMA: Mr. Speaker, Mr. Vice President, Members of Congress, fellow citizens:
Discussion:
The White House, Firedoglake, Guardian, The Atlantic Online, New York Post, The Huffington Post, Washington Post, Business Insider, White House.gov Blog, Sunlight Foundation Blog, ABCNEWS, National Review, Wonkblog, The Daily Caller, Shakesville, Colorlines, Macleans.ca, Power Line, Fox News Insider, Daniel W. Drezner, Quartz, epic.org and Althouse
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Politico:
State of the Union 2013: Bill Shuster apologizes for saying Obama lied — House Transportation Chairman Bill Shuster apologized Wednesday for calling President Barack Obama a liar after the State of the Union speech. — Shuster (R-Pa.), speaking to POLITICO from Statuary Hall minutes after the speech …
Discussion:
Post Politics
Paul Steinhauser / CNN:
CNN Poll: 53% who watched speech give president thumbs up — Washington (CNN) - A majority of Americans who watched President Barack Obama's State of the Union address said they had a very positive reaction to his speech, according to a survey of people across the country who viewed Tuesday night's address.
Discussion:
The Hill, Slate, The Week, Taylor Marsh, Taegan Goddard's … and ABCNEWS
Seung Min Kim / Politico:
Roy Blunt says Republicans have votes to delay Chuck Hagel nomination — Sen. Roy Blunt signaled Wednesday that there may be enough votes in the Senate to delay debate on the nomination of Chuck Hagel to lead the Pentagon. — Blunt (R-Mo.) said he believed there were 40 votes in the Senate that indicated …
Discussion:
Power Line, CNN, Hot Air, Right Turn and Israel Matzav
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Ginger Gibson / Politico:
John McCain might delay Chuck Hagel vote — Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.) is backing away from his no-filibuster stance on the nomination of Chuck Hagel as defense secretary. — After saying just days ago that Senate Republicans shouldn't filibuster Hagel's nod, McCain now says he hasn't made up his mind …
Discussion:
Right Turn, Advocate, Daily Kos and National Review
Politico:
John Boehner's Senate-first strategy — The same House Republican majority that spent the entire past two years haranguing Senate Democrats for ignoring piles of legislation has a new strategy. — Let the Senate act first — on nearly everything. — Boehner is trying to shift …
Discussion:
CNN, Washington Monthly and Daily Kos
Pat Garofalo / ThinkProgress:
Top Republicans Oppose Obama's Call To Raise The Minimum Wage … During his State of the Union address last night, President Obama called for raising the minimum wage to $9 an hour, up from its current $7.25, and indexing it to inflation so that it rises as the economy grows.
Discussion:
Little Green Footballs, Feministing, Daily Kos and Mediaite
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Dan Pfeiffer / Talking Points Memo:
Boehner Shoots Down Obama's Minimum Wage Hike
Boehner Shoots Down Obama's Minimum Wage Hike
Discussion:
The Plum Line and Prairie Weather
Jamelle Bouie / American Prospect:
The President's Dream State — President Obama at last night's State of the Union address — By any measure, President Obama's first term was consequential. In four years, he signed an $800 billion stimulus program into law, laid the foundation for universal health insurance …
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Steve Kornacki / Salon:
The gun control president
Maureen Dowd / New York Times:
The Rap on Rubio — Not long ago, scrolling for a movie, I saw that “Notorious” was on. — How can you resist Cary Grant as an American spy in Rio recruiting Ingrid Bergman to seduce and betray a Nazi played by Claude Rains? — But it turned out to be a very different “Notorious,” …
Discussion:
msnbc.com
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Pete Kasperowicz / The Hill:
Rep. Jackson Lee warns against more spending cuts: 'We're at the bone almost' — Rep. Sheila Jackson Lee (D-Texas) urged her colleagues to reach a compromise to prevent spending cuts through sequestration, arguing that government programs are already as lean as they can be.
Discussion:
Weasel Zippers and The PJ Tatler
RELATED:
Seung Min Kim / Politico:
Republicans predict sequester will happen
Republicans predict sequester will happen
Discussion:
The Hill, Hot Air and The Maddow Blog
PR Newswire:
Ron Paul Makes National Radio Debut With Courtside — Courtside Entertainment Group announced today that former Congressman and Presidential Candidate Ron Paul will make his national radio and podcast debut March 18, 2013. Ron Paul 's America will feature one of America's …
Discussion:
Politico, The Daily Caller and alan.com
Politico:
Iraq to hire D.C. lobbyist — The government of Iraq is in the final stages of inking a contract with the Podesta Group as its first Washington lobbying firm, POLITICO has learned. — A source says the Podesta Group significantly underbid D.C. rivals Patton Boggs and the Livingston Group.
Discussion:
Guardian and Washington Free Beacon
New York Times:
Challenged for His Seat at 89, a Senator Does Not Go Gentle — WASHINGTON — As he approached his 89th birthday this year, Senator Frank R. Lautenberg of New Jersey was finally considering retirement, an option he had tried a decade earlier and hated so much that he jumped at the chance to return to political life.
Discussion:
Althouse, Ballot Box, First Read and Roll Call
Neal B. Freeman / National Review:
Buckley Rule — According to Bill, not Karl — The Buckley Rule has been much invoked in recent weeks, in this space and elsewhere, and on almost every occasion it has been both misquoted and misapplied. As one who was present at the formulation, I feel obliged to record the “originalist” intention.
Discussion:
Riehl World News
Ari Berman / The Nation:
Obama Appoints a Controversial GOP Lawyer to His Voting Commission — President Obama embraced the cause of voting rights in his State of the Union speech, which he called “our most fundamental right as citizens,” and spotlighted 102-year-old Desiline Victor, a naturalized Haitian immigrant …