The Guardian uses the Flesch-Kincaid readability test to track the reading level of every State of the Union address.
Joe Scarborough vs. The Nerds
Jonathan Chait: “What makes Joe Scarborough such an enjoyable figure is his combination of affability, good intentions, high self-regard, low self-awareness, and total lack of analytical reasoning skills. He is not remotely dislikable. He is Ron Burgundy come to life.”
“The nerd is the natural enemy of Joe Scarborough, as nerds defy everything Scarborough has come to believe about the expected order of things.”
Obama’s Policies Preferred Over GOP’s
A new Washington Post-ABC News poll finds 52% of Americans have a favorable opinion of the policies President Obama wants to pursue in his second term.
In contract, 55% hold a negative view of the policies they expect the Republicans in Congress to offer in the next four years.
Paladino Flips Off Reporter
Failed 2010 New York gubernatorial candidate Carl Paladino (R) visited the state Capitol and passed by “the glass-walled office of Fred Dicker, the state editor of the New York Post who was in the middle of his daily, live, radio show,” the Albany Times Union reports.
“‘Hey Fred!’ Paladino shouted. The two men had a physical tiff during the 2010 campaign, where Dicker forcefully questioned Paladino about his unsubstantiated suggestion that Cuomo had been a womanizer, and Paladino yelled at Dicker for the actions of a Post reporter who staked out his Buffalo home.”
“Dicker looked up. Paladino raised his middle finger, smiled, and walked away.”
The Case for Revenge
Coming soon: Payback: The Case for Revenge by Thane Rosenbaum.
Hagel Failed to Disclose Two Speeches
“In the supporting documents he turned over to Senate investigators as part of his confirmation process, Defense Secretary-designate Chuck Hagel did not disclose at least two recent speeches on the subject of the Arab-Israeli conflict,” Fox News reports.
“Obama administration sources and lawmakers said Hagel was required to declare to the Senate Armed Services Committee any ‘formal speeches’ he had given since the start of January 2008. That Hagel appears not to have declared the two speeches from 2008 could further jeopardize his nomination with Senate Republicans, who have already threatened to block the nomination because they believe Hagel has not turned over enough financial data.”
Christie Still Riding High
A new Monmouth University/Asbury Park Press Poll in New Jersey finds Gov. Chris Christie (R) with an approval rate at 70% and just 17% disapproving.
Christie even has a 58% job approval rating from Democrats and 60% from public employees.
Correction of the Day
“An earlier version of this post incorrectly reported that Sarah Palin planned to contribute to the Al Jazeera America news network.”
Republicans Plan on Ignoring Obama
Roll Call:
“If President Barack Obama has soured on pointless haggling with
congressional Republicans, the feeling is mutual. So after Tuesday
evening’s post-State of the Union platitudes about working together have
been dispensed with, expect House and Senate Republicans to go their
own way, ignoring Obama and his demands as much as possible.”
A More Aggressive Obama
New York Times: “Inside the White House and out, advisers and associates have noted subtle but palpable changes in Mr. Obama since his re-election… He is relaxed, more voluble and even more confident than usual, these people say, freer to drop profanities or dismiss others’ ideas — enough that even some supporters fear the potential for hubris.”
Greg Sargent: “If Obama makes good on the threat to
be aggressive, there will be a great deal of gnashing of teeth among
Republicans — and even neutral commentators — about his lack of ‘bipartisan outreach.'”
Obama’s Last Chance to Go Big?
First Read: “Here’s a reality about a second-term presidency: You have a narrow window — at the beginning of the term — to persuade Congress to do something big. For Ronald Reagan, it was tax reform (which he achieved); for Bill Clinton, it was education reform (which failed); and for George W. Bush, it was Social Security reform (which crashed and burned). And this is perhaps the best way to view President Obama’s State of the Union address at 9:00 pm ET tonight. It is essentially his last chance to lay the groundwork for domestic achievements. In his speech tonight, Obama is expected to push for second term agenda: comprehensive immigration reform, ways to curb gun violence, and his preferences to grow the economy and reduce the deficit. And it’s the issue of the economy where the president will spend a lion’s share of his time.”
GOP Backs Path to Citizenship Unless Obama Supports It
A new Washington Post poll finds that 70% of Americans said they would support a path to citizenship for illegal immigrants, including 60% of Republicans.
But when the same question was asked of a separate sample of respondents, this time with Obama’s name attached to it, support dropped to 59% overall and just 39% among Republicans.
Quote of the Day
“I think the President came to power with a worldview that’s fundamentally different than mine. The sense that he wanted to reduce U.S. influence in the world. He wanted to take us down a peg.”
— Former Vice President Dick Cheney, in an interview on CBS This Morning.
That Popey Changey Thing
Jon Stewart comments on Pope Benedict’s surprise announcement that he’s stepping down to read books and pray:
“”Isn’t that what the pope was doing? Sounds to me like the only thing he’s losing in retirement is the waving.”
Sequester Looms Larger
Charlie Cook: “Don’t be surprised if the barometric pressure in Washington’s atmosphere and the blood pressures of many Beltway denizens shoot up this week. As emotional, important, and timely as the debates over immigration and gun control are, the increasing likelihood that budget sequestration will, in fact, kick in March 1 is just now starting to sink in.”
“The thinking behind sequestration was that the penalty for not
sufficiently reducing the deficit would be so draconian that members of
Congress would do whatever it took to avoid it. No one realized that
quite a few members from both parties would prefer sequestration to
making the painful concessions necessary for compromise–but that’s where
we are.”
Byron York reports the GOP “appears more and more prepared to keep the sequester as it currently stands.”
Impact of the State of the Union Rarely Lasting
Washington Post: “Rarely have State of the Union addresses moved public opinion, and rarely have they led to the kind of broad legislative accomplishments that presidents propose. For all the ritual and attention surrounding these speeches, the State of the Union is, well, sort of lame.”
Roll Call has 10 things to watch for in tonight’s speech.
North Korea Confirms Nuclear Test
North Korea confirmed “that it had conducted its third, long-threatened nuclear test… posing a new challenge for the Obama administration in its effort to keep the country from becoming a full-fledged nuclear power,” the New York Times reports.
“The test drew a crescendo of international condemnation Tuesday, with President Obama calling it a ‘highly provocative act’ that demands ‘swift and credible action by the international community’ against North Korea. Russia, Britain, South Korea and the United Nations similarly quickly condemned the blast.”
Marc Ambinder notes five things to watch for after the North Korean test.
GOP Plans Tough Questioning of Lew
“Senate Democrats are pushing to quickly confirm Jacob Lew as Treasury secretary, but at a hearing Wednesday, Republicans plan to grill him about his tenure in the financial world,” the Wall Street Journal reports.
“Lew has less experience in business and finance than in government budgeting–a fact that Republicans could highlight. And his business experience–primarily working at Citigroup Inc. from 2006 until 2009–will draw attention because the bank needed a taxpayer-funded bailout to survive the financial crisis.”
