We Already Know What Obama Will Say Tonight

Rick Klein: “The ‘spoilers’ strategy may sap what’s left of the drama of anticipation around Tuesday night’s State of the Union. But that drama has been dissipating naturally anyway – and that’s why the White House has to be pleased with the way it’s gotten items off the laundry list and into display cases.  The community-college proposal, the president’s tax plan, the new paid-leave policy – these are all in the political bloodstream now. If we first learned of them Tuesday night, maybe one or two plans total would be expected to get traction. Maybe none of these things end up happening.”

“But the White House has found new ways to cut through the clutter and get presidential ideas front of mind, despite full Republican control of Congress. So yes, the trailers have given away some of the best stuff in this movie. But a State of the Union in the seventh year of a presidency is rarely going to be a blockbuster anyway. If the takeaway is just that the president has a solid script, that might be enough to be counted as a success.”