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WASHINGTON — It's an unwritten law of modern America that a political campaign speech should last no more than 30 minutes. The lecture candidate Barack Obama delivered on the evening of Jan. 24 in the House chamber of the U.S. Capitol came in at just longer than one hour and six minutes. It was full of rhetoric we should expect to hear reiterated from now until Nov. 6. The president's supporters declared his economic message to be "populist." That's liberal-speak for class warfare. In the days since the State of the Union address, politicians and pundits of every stripe...

Editor's note: This piece was authored by Brion McClanahan. In case you missed it, and many did, President Barack Obama gave his annual “State of the Union” address last night. All the pageantry, the pomp…the demagoguery, what’s not to watch? In light of President Obama’s promises and agenda, perhaps it would be useful to analyze his address through the lens of the founding generation. After all, they wrote and ratified the Constitution, so they should have a fair understanding about its meaning, powers, and how it should be interpreted. Obama: “Tonight, I want to speak about how we move forward,...

Following is the full text of Gov. Mitch Daniels' Republican Address to the Nation, as prepared for delivery:"The status of 'loyal opposition' imposes on those out of power some serious responsibilities: to show respect for the Presidency and its occupant, to express agreement where it exists. Republicans tonight salute our President, for instance, for his aggressive pursuit of the murderers of 9/11, and for bravely backing long overdue changes in public education. I personally would add to that list admiration for the strong family commitment that he and the First Lady have displayed to a nation sorely needing such examples."On...

Ah, the Hollow Man... I listen to these things so you don't have to, and I've got a pretty strong stomach - but last night's festivities were truly something else. A transcript is available here for those of you into self-mortification, but I'll go over the basics. First off, the speech was obviously very well rehearsed down to the last vocal inflection and raised eyebrow..in fact. I wouldn't be a bit surprised if there were theatrical directions emanating from TOTUS tonight. Simply amazing..yet as he spoke, the contradictions between what was coming out of his mouth and what we've seen...

First lady’s office will not comment ‘as of right now’ on $2K SOTU dress By Caroline May - The Daily Caller 1:27 PM 01/25/2012 ADVERTISEMENT While the president spoke about the economic frustrations of average Americans in his State of the Union address Tuesday night, his wife, Michelle Obama appeared at the event in a sapphire blue dress from designer Barbara Tfank’s 2012 Resort collection, estimated to cost over $2k. The first lady’s press office, however is mum on dress, telling The Daily Caller that they will not offer comment “as of right now.” Tfanks, a West Coast designer, recently...

Michelle Obama Wore a $2K+ Barbara Tfank Dress to State of the Union “As the President declared his intent to help buoy the 99% (“Asking a billionaire to pay at least as much as his secretary in taxes? Most Americans would call that common sense,” he declared), his wife dazzled in a cobalt sheath from Barbara Tfank’s resort collection. While reps for the brand won’t reveal the item’s retail price, a similar style from the collection is currently available at Barney’s New York for $2,400.”

It turns out Mitt Romney paid $6.2 million in taxes in the latest year between federal and local taxes and I say bravo for him that sounds fair as hell to me. Really, just think for a moment and ask yourself does anyone get $6.2 million a year in services from the government? This past weekend is a perfect example. A nature preserve sits right behind my house, which is great because it's like having a giant backyard with deer, foxes, and occasional eagles. I worry about those giant trees that lean toward the house in such an ominous way...

IT TOOK A MATTER of seconds during a gathering with constituents at a Tucson shopping center for Rep. Gabrielle Giffords’s (D-Ariz.) life to be profoundly transformed. Ms. Giffords was one of 19 people wounded or killed there last year, allegedly by a deranged young man who inflicted unspeakable damage with the help of a semi-automatic weapon and an extended magazine clip. The bullet that pierced Ms. Giffords’s head left her clinging to life; hers has been a remarkable rehabilitation over the past 12 months, during which she has learned to walk and speak again. * Ms. Giffords did not refer...

"What would you ask President Obama?" a January 23 email from The White House begins: Tomorrow, President Obama will deliver his State of the Union address at 9:00 p.m. ET. During that speech, he’ll lay out his vision for an America where hard work and responsibility are rewarded, where everyone does their fair share, and where everyone is held accountable for what they do. There is a range of ways to get involved with this year’s State of the Union address. Immediately following the President’s speech on Tuesday, be sure to stay tuned to WhiteHouse.gov/SOTU for a live panel featuring...

President Obama will use his election-year State of the Union address on Tuesday to define an activist role for government in promoting a prosperous and equitable society, hoping to draw a stark contrast between the parties in a time of deep economic uncertainty. ...Mr. Obama will call for changing the corporate and individual income-tax codes so the wealthy pay more, both to finance government investments and to alleviate the rise in income inequality in recent years. Republican presidential candidates have countered that government should get out of the way.

From Washington Blade: White House Press Secretary Jay Carney said on Friday he wouldn’t rule “in or out” the possibility of President Obama endorsing same-sex marriage in the upcoming State of the Union address. Carney made the remarks on whether Obama would announce support for marriage equality during the State of the Union address, which is set to take place Tuesday before a joint session of Congress, in response to a question from the Washington Blade. “I will not rule anything in or out,” Carney said. “I’m just not going to talk about — beyond pointing at his words —...

When President Barack Obama offers his Jan. 24 State of the Union address, it will mark exactly 1,000 days since the Democrat-controlled U.S. Senate has passed a budget. The Senate has not bothered to pass a budget since April 29, 2009. “The Republican-led House of Representatives passed the Paul Ryan budget that reduced Obama’s spending levels by six trillion dollars over the next decade. The Democrat-controlled Senate has not passed a budget in three years," said Americans for Tax Reform President Grover Norquist. "When President Obama tries to blame a ‘do nothing’ congress for his problems….he is half right. The...

Given the chance to interview Katie Couric, I wouldn't ask her what newspapers she reads. I'd want to know how she understands her role as anchor, and why she thinks it's appropriate to express opinions on controversial issues of the day. For that's just what she's done on the subject of gun control, expressing disappointment that Pres. Obama didn't raise it in his SOTU. Describing her dissatisfaction in her "Notebook" yesterday, Couric asserted that PBO's failure to raise gun control put a "cloud" over the SOTU. View video after the jump.

Obama's State of the Union Was Tantamount to Plagiarism January 26, 2011 By Alvin Felzenberg 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. I suppose this is what one does when one not only has nothing new to say, but is required by custom and Constitution to come forth with a report of some kind by a certain time and day. Had Obama or his writers been considerate enough to have...

Levin writes this morning his insightful analysis of Obama and his SOTU speech. Bottom line is that Obama hasn’t changed one bit even though the political world is talking as though he has:

Chris Matthews was nearly apoplectic in his questioning of Tea Party Express co-founder Sal Russo on the topic of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann and her controversial re-imagining of history where the founding fathers found a way to end slavery in their lifetime. Repeatedly calling Bachmann a "balloon head," Matthews demanded to know why Russo and the Tea Party wanted Bachmann to give a response to the State of the Union address or, more generally, why they ever wanted her to open her mouth in the first place?

How can a Dem president tell that his SOTU was a for-real floperewski? When even Andrea Mitchell pans it. Yet that's precisely what NBC's chief foreign affairs correspondent did on Morning Joe today. What was particularly unkind about Andrea's cut was that she criticized both the form and the substance of the speech. After observing that Pres. Obama's oratory lacked "energy" and "passion," Mitchell opined that "it doesn't add up. The dollars and cents don't add up." Ouch. Before Andrea's assessment, the rest of the panel, with the notable exception of Howard Dean who managed to defend the speech, took...

Insisting the Tea Party is a "force for good" Rep. Michele Bachmann blasted health care reform, called for deep budget cuts and blamed President Obama for failing to find solutions to help the struggling economy. The response to President Obama's State of the Union address, was on behalf of the tea party movement, and followed the Republican Party's official response on Tuesday night.

Americans responded with overwhelming positivity to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union speech, two polls conducted after the Tuesday night speech found...

Live from Congress!It'ssssss.....Barack Obama!Starring in the State of the Union Civility Sham Wow!Featuring Joe Biden as Happy Clappy!And John Boehner as the Angry White Man Who wants to Kill Old People, Take Away a Woman's Right to Choose, Enslave Blacks, Deport All Hispanics, Cut Taxes for the Rich, Starve the Poor, Take Away Their Healthcare and Privatize Social Security and Medicare."Investments...Civility...Jobs...Civility...Investments...Civility...Jobs...Civility"

It's bad enough that Rep. Paul Ryan has to follow President Obama. Now the brainy Wisconsin congressman tapped to give the official Republican response to the State of the Union address must also compete for attention with Tea Party star Michele Bachmann. Bachmann, a third-term Minnesota congresswoman renowned for lobbing rhetorical bombs at her opponents, plans to rebut the president's address in an online broadcast at the Tea Party Express website Tuesday night. While Ryan's remarks will be carried by all the networks and cable news outlets as they happen, television news outlets have agreed to share a camera to...

My husband and I are being interviewed for our local news station in about 1 hour as a "regular families" opinion and expectations of the Presidents speech tonight. Any good talking points or comments to throw out there? I know you all can help me with some good ones!

President Obama’s advisers were still discussing late Monday how to deal with calls by Democrats for him to embrace some kind of gun control legislation. There was at least some possibility that Obama would express support for something concrete in his State of the Union address, perhaps safeguards for keeping weapons out of the hands of the mentally ill.

Rep. Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) might not get the national audience she'd hoped for Tuesday evening, when she delivers her response to the State of the Union address. Only one television network — CNN — plans to air Bachmann's response to President Obama in its entirety, which she'll deliver separately from the official Republican response. She will make her remarks to the Tea Party Express, which will live-stream her speech on its website.

Tonight President Obama is going to give the State of the Unions address. President Obama has never been one to pay attention to the law or details. When recently giving a speech quoting the Declaration of Independence he left out the word “creator” as part of the quote. Presumably, what he wanted to do is expunge any reference to god even though that was an integral part of the meaning of the Declaration. ( See video). It comes as no surprise that the time honored State of the Union address given by the president is now resembling more a State...

Pursuing a path of deficit reduction and government reform, President Obama will tonight in his State of the Union address call for a ban on earmarks and he will propose a five year budget freeze on non-security related discretionary spending, ABC News has learned. The proposals come as the president prepares to tackle the deficit and debt and as he faces a House of Representatives in Republican hands, many of whose members include those affiliated with the Tea Party who may be willing to embrace both moves. The president will propose some new spending in certain areas that address the...

We have to be honest folks, Fox news has been drifting further and further left over the past several years. The natural instinct of most conservatives is to defend the channel that the far left attacks on a daily basis. A similar occurrence came during the eight years of the Bush administration, where the left was viscous, conservatives defended as we witnessed a president advance a very liberal agenda. My point is that the formula that who the left hates and goes after is not necessarily who they oppose (As in Palin) but a tactic to redefine what right wing...

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After President Obama delivers his State of the Union address Tuesday tonight, don't be surprised if he does some selective dialing back on his TV appearances. That could be a smart move, even though no President since Ronald Reagan has loved television more than Obama - and TV has loved him right back. Obama comes across on "Oprah" as articulate and relaxed. You see him and you want to friend him on Facebook. So once he got to the White House, he naturally wasn't going to get off the horse that helped bring him there. In his first year as...

because we forget things we only hear about.

Exclusive: President Obama to Propose Budget Freeze and Earmark Ban Tonight January 25, 2011 11:11 AM Pursuing a path of deficit reduction and government reform, President Obama will tonight in his State of the Union address call for a ban on earmarks and he will propose an overall budget freeze, ABC News has learned. The proposals come as the president prepares to tackle the deficit and debt and as he faces a House of Representatives in Republican hands, many of whose members include those affiliated with the Tea Party who may be willing to embrace both moves. The president will...

It's Time To Proudly Wear The Deficit Awareness Ribbon The Deficit Awareness Ribbon The concept of the deficit awareness ribbon is not new. It was originally created by Rush Limbaugh as a gag when he folded a full dollar bill into a ribbon. James Fitzmaurice, aka the artist Lazlo has taken the idea one step further by making it into “Art”. Lazlo created his performance art to be worn by others as a constitutionally protected demonstration of free speech, similar to flag burning. It is also a form of participatory art or “Social Sculpture” Q and A’s Q: Why should...

It's bipartisan date night on the floor of the House and invitations are flying. But not all are being accepted. House Democratic Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi has rejected an invitation from Majority Leader Eric Cantor, R-Va., to sit together at the President's State of the Union Address. Pelosi moments ago announced that she had already extended an invitation to Rep. Roscoe Bartlett, of Maryland, who also happens to be a Republican. Cantor was shot down in a tweet from the former speaker. "I thank @GOPLeader for his #SOTU offer, but I invited my friend Rep. Bartlett from MD yesterday &...

Only, like the running gag in the Princess Bride, that word does not mean what you think it means. Pursuing a path of deficit reduction and government reform, President Obama will tonight in his State of the Union address call for a ban on earmarks and he will propose an overall budget freeze, ABC News has learned…. The president will propose some new spending in certain areas that address the speech’s theme of “How We Win the Future”: innovation, education and infrastructure. But those increases will be proposed as part of an overall budget freeze, which given the annual rate...

Six out of nine members of the Supreme Court will attend Tuesday night’s State of the Union, just one year after President Barack Obama openly chided the court for its Citizen’s United decision on campaign finance in the annual address. The court did not make available the names of the justices who will attend, but Justice Samuel Alito, Jr. has a speaking engagement at the University of Hawaii law school, whose website is currently running an “Aloha Alito” slide show on its homepage. Alito was at the center of the awkward and unusual 2010 exchange with the president during last...

Cantor invites Pelosi to be his seatmate at president's address By Russell Berman - 01/25/11 11:52 AM ET House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) invited Minority Leader Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to sit next to him at the State of the Union address, just hours after he criticized her for “continuing to drive the ideological agenda” instead of reaching across the aisle. The invitation was made Monday evening through staffers for the two leaders, Cantor spokesman Brad Dayspring said. Spokesmen for the former Speaker did not return an immediate request for comment. The pairing would be among the more high-profile for...

House Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) has invited his Democratic counterpart Nancy Pelosi (D-Calif.) to sit with him at Tuesday's State of the Union. Cantor's office said he made the ask last night. Pelosi's office didn't respond to an email asking if the former speaker would cozy up next to Cantor. The two hardly are pals. Cantor Monday blasted Pelosi for not meeting with Republicans -- a contention that the Californian's office says is not true.

"'The most productive two years that we've had in generations,' the president pronounces it." . . . "To the Heritage Foundation's Brian Darling, Obama has emerged as the 'over-promiser in chief.'"

In 1995, Christie Whitman, a New Jersey governor who was a rising Republican Party star, delivered the GOP’s response to President Bill Clinton’s State of the Union address in front of a cheering crowd in the Assembly chamber. Once again, New Jersey has a rising Republican star in the Statehouse, and a Democratic president about to give a State of the Union address. But history won’t repeat itself this year — even though Republicans were interested in making that happen. William Palatucci, Gov. Chris Christie’s close personal and political confidante, told The Auditor that Republican leadership had inquired with the...

NEEDED TO PLAY: 4 taxpayers of any sex: 1 rich white banker- type wearing dark suit with loosened tie. 2 ordinary folks wearing jeans; 1 in a blue or flannel work shirt, the other in a white shirt, sleeves rolled up. 1 poor bedraggled person wearing clothes that look like they were retrieved from the bottom of a rodeo dumpster behind the animal performer stalls. 1 living room with a TV tuned to the State of the Union Address. 1 shot glass per person. Everybody brings own, scattering array on coffee table in front of TV. Banker gets first choice...

Tone Deaf: Obama's SOTU Republican Meetings Broken Promise http://www.theblaze.com/stories/tone-deaf-obamas-sotu-republican-meetings-broken-promise/

Now that Dick Cheney has opened the door to tighter gun restrictions, will President Barack Obama do the same? That politically dicey question is playing out behind the scenes in the run-up to next week’s State of the Union. In the aftermath of the Tucson shooting of Rep. Gabrielle Giffords and federal Judge John Roll, gun control groups and some Democratic members of Congress are pushing to get the president to directly address the issue of gun violence in his speech to Congress next Tuesday, according to gun control advocates and congressional aides, who asked for anonymity. Some Democratic party...

Rep. Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) will give the Republican response to President Obama's State of the Union address, a senior GOP official told The Hotline on Friday. The seven-term Republican, newly installed as the chairman of the House Budget Committee, is one of the most prominent deficit hawks in Congress. And he is close to House leadership as a third of the original "Young Guns" program, along with Majority Leader Eric Cantor (R-Va.) and Majority Whip Kevin McCarthy (R-Calif.).

It's one of the most treasured spotlights -- and one of the most thankless tasks -- in American politics. For one night this year, a Republican will become the face of the party and offer a response to the president of the United States after he delivers the State of the Union address. The spotlight is intense; despite the fact that the response gets a far smaller audience than the president's address, it's still watched by everyone in Washington, and by millions more around the country. It can highlight a rising star in the GOP, like last year's address in...

A broad coalition of labor unions and liberal groups has launched an intense lobbying campaign directed at the White House in advance of President Obama’s State of the Union address. These groups are concerned about Obama’s taciturn response to the proposal by his fiscal commission to gradually increase the retirement age and use a different calculation for cost-of-living adjustments. Coalition partners held a conference call with liberal bloggers on Thursday afternoon to expand the public-relations campaign directed at the White House and Congress. The Strengthen Social Security Campaign includes more than 200 member groups such as the AFL-CIO, AFSCME, SEIU,...

White House press secretary Robert Gibbs expressed tepid approval on Thursday for Sen. Mark Udall’s idea that the parties sit together, not separate, during President Obama’s State of the Union address on Jan. 25. “I haven't had an opportunity to talk to some folks around here on that. It's an interesting idea,” Gibbs told reporters on Thursday. “Maybe not having a physical aisle separate us would be a good thing as we talk about the state of our union, and that's everybody. That's not one side or the other. That's everyone.”

Guess MSNBC missed the part of Pres. Obama's Tucson speech decrying the way our politics have become "so sharply polarized" . . . During today's Morning Joe, MSNBC aired a promo for PBO's impending State of the Union that featured video from previous SOTU speeches. Notably missing were any clips from past Republican presidents. Instead we were treated to a montage of JFK, LBJ, Clinton, Obama and even Jimmy Carter. Think Ronald Reagan, or W just a few months after 9-11, might have said something inspirational in their SOTUs? Not in the mind of MSNBC.

Barack Obama is gunning for a confrontation with the Supreme Court, and Chief Justice John Roberts has signaled that he welcomes the fight. Last week, the chief justice described the president’s State of the Union condemnation of the Citizens United decision as “very troubling” and complained that the speech had “degenerated to a political pep rally.” Roberts was making an argument about etiquette--dissent was fine, he said, but Obama had somehow transgressed the boundaries of civilized discourse by delivering his attack to a captive audience. But he was implicitly making a political argument as well. That is, Roberts seems to...

When President Obama turned his State of the Union address into an attack on the Supreme Court's ruling that ended the ban against corporate spending for political campaigns, the justices had to sit there motionless while encircled by Democratic lawmakers who cheered the president's scolding. Judicial scholars could not recall a president "taking a swipe" at the justices, as one of them put it, in such a venue, at least not since President Franklin D. Roosevelt did it in his 1937 address before he tried to pack the court with more liberals to rule in favor of his unconstitutional New...