memeorandum: State of the Union 2014 fact check (Politico)

11:55 AM ET, January 29, 2014

Top Items:

Ted Cruz: The Imperial Presidency of Barack Obama — In the nation's history, there is simply no precedent for an American president so wantonly ignoring federal law. — Of all the troubling aspects of the Obama presidency, none is more dangerous than the president's persistent pattern of lawlessness …

Discussion: National Review, Patterico's Pontifications, The Mahablog, BuzzFeed and The Lead with Jake Tapper

Hadas Gold / Politico:

Bush speechwriter: Obama plagiarized Bush — President George W. Bush's former speech writer said that President Barack Obama plagiarized his former boss in Tuesday's State of the Union address. — Speaking to Fox News's Megyn Kelly, Marc Thiessen, the lead writer on Bush's 2007 State …

Discussion: Washington Monthly, BizPac Review and Mediaite

New York Times:

Text and Video of Obama's State of the Union Address — Following is the transcript of President Obama's State of the Union address, as transcribed by the Federal News Service. — MR. OBAMA: Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you. (Applause.) Thank you so much.

Todd S. Purdum / Politico:

The State of the Union: Make it stop — Blame Woodrow Wilson, who broke a century-old presidential tradition of delivering the State of the Union message only in writing. Blame Harry Truman, the first chief executive to make the address on television, or Lyndon Johnson, the first to do so in prime time.

Discussion: Taylor Marsh and Taegan Goddard's …

Ron Fournier / NationalJournal.com:

Good Speech, Modest Agenda, Diminished Leader — Americans may have already tuned out Barack Obama. — Is that all there is? — In what may be his last, best chance to revive a presidency that has fallen far short of its promise, Barack Obama unveiled his 2014 agenda Tuesday night …

Discussion: Washington Wire, The Daily Caller and Mediaite

The Huffington Post:

State Of The Union Poll Gives Obama Positive Marks — WASHINGTON — CNN's instant polling among Americans who watched Tuesday's State of the Union found an overwhelming majority reacting positively to President Barack Obama's address, as it has four times previously during his presidency.

Discussion: Gallup and Taylor Marsh

Politico:
State of the Union 2014 fact check

Discussion: USA Today, Hot Air, First Read and Washington Wire

First Read / firstread.nbcnews.com:
First Thoughts: On the road again

Discussion: National Review, NBCNews and nbcpolitics.nbcnews.com

Brett M. Decker / USA Today:
Less speech, more competence: Column

Discussion: americanthinker.com

Howard Fineman / The Huffington Post: Obama's Big-Time Small Ball

Dylan Byers / Politico:
Three quick State of the Union observations

Discussion: National Review

Brianna Keilar / CNN:
Obama to put women's issues ‘front and center’ in address

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, Business Insider, The Democratic Daily and Le·gal In·sur·rec· tion

Scott Wilson / Washington Post:
Obama prepared to avoid Congress, go it alone on carrying out modest initiatives

Discussion: New York Times, The Fix, NBCNews, Scared Monkeys, Politico, Gawker, Post Politics, The Moderate Voice, Outside the Beltway, BBC, She The People and neo-neocon

Washington Post:
In the State of the Union, opportunities to work together

Discussion: New York Times, Slate and The Star-Ledger Editorial Page

Kevin D. Williamson / National Review:
Great Caesar's Ghost

Discussion: Hot Air, Politico, The Daily Beast and American Spectator

NY1:

Rep. Grimm Threatens NY1 Reporter Following State of the Union … Staten Island Rep. Michael Grimm physically threatened NY1 political reporter Michael Scotto at the conclusion of an interview in the Capitol Rotunda following Tuesday night's State of the Union address.

Ashley Killough / CNN:
New York congressman threatens to throw reporter off balcony

Discussion: Politico, The Hill, Scared Monkeys, Talking Points Memo, Mashable, NY1 and Runnin' Scared

Caitlin MacNeal / Talking Points Memo:
Report: Rep. Grimm Threatens Journalist After SOTU

Discussion: The Raw Story

Katie Glueck / Politico:

Mike Lee tea party response: Barack Obama at fault for inequality — Sen. Mike Lee tried to challenge the Democrats on their own turf by discussing an “inequality crisis” in his official tea party rebuttal to the State of the Union on Tuesday, while fellow tea party darling Sen. Rand Paul struck …

Discussion: CNN, Scared Monkeys and American Power

Robert Costa / Washington Post:
ANALYSIS: Rep. Cathy McMorris Rodgers comes through for GOP in SOTU response

Discussion: Talking Points Memo, Hot Air and WFPL

Niels Lesniewski / The World's Greatest …:

Graham Says World ‘Literally About to Blow Up’ — After praising President Barack Obama on immigration, South Carolina GOP Sen. Lindsey Graham blasted the foreign policy portion of the State of the Union speech. — “The world is literally about to blow up,” Graham said, saying he completely disagrees with Obama on Iran policy.

Discussion: Liberaland, Mediaite, Taegan Goddard's … and The Raw Story

Tom Kludt / Talking Points Memo: Lindsey Graham Says ‘The World Is Literally About To Blow Up’

Politico:

GOP ready to surrender on debt ceiling — House Republicans are getting ready to surrender: There will be no serious fight over the debt limit. — The most senior figures in the House Republican Conference are privately acknowledging that they will almost certainly have to pass what's called …

Discussion: Firedoglake, Business Insider, The Plum Line, americanthinker.com, First Read and Taegan Goddard's …

The White House:

FACT SHEET: Opportunity for All - Rewarding Hard Work — Raising the Minimum Wage through Executive Order to $10.10 for Federal Contract Workers & Calling on Congress to Finish the Job for All Workers by Passing the Harkin-Miller Bill — Year of Action: Making Progress Through Executive Action

Discussion: Shakesville, National Review, aflcio.org and The World's Greatest …

Abby D. Phillip / ABC News:
In State of the Union 2014, President Obama Pushes for Year of Action on Economic Opportunity

Discussion: Politico, ABC News, Yahoo! News and New York Times

NorthJersey.com:

Governor Christie's brother invested in houses near new PATH station in Harrison — Governor Christie's brother, Todd Christie, and two business partners have bought and sold a handful of properties within walking distance of the PATH station in Harrison, slated for a $256 million renovation funded …

Discussion: Liberaland and Hinterland Gazette

Lydia Saad / Gallup:

Not as Many U.S. States Lean Democratic in 2013 — Parties now about equal in state party leanings, 17 to 14 — PRINCETON, NJ — Blue states outnumbered red states in the U.S. last year, 17 to 14, according to Gallup Daily tracking of party preferences. That three-state advantage …

Discussion: Politico

Josh Kraushaar / NationalJournal.com:

The GOP Presidential Contender Everyone's Overlooking — Ohio Gov. John Kasich is serious about running for president, and he'd be a formidable candidate. — For a party that's accustomed to nominating the next-in-line presidential candidate, 2016 promises to be a very unusual year for the Republican Party.

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:

“Whatever, Guys ...” — I mentioned during the speech that the President seemed to have a bit more jump in his step than I expected, perhaps more than the dented poll numbers and sense of malaise hanging over the White House would suggest. The mere words of the speech are here.

Discussion: Paul Krugman