State of the Union edition. Two essentials: A transcript, from the New York Times, and a link from CBS to what probably will be the longest-remembered moment of the night, Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito’s judicially-tempered reprise of “You lie!”
Healthcare: Sam Stein at The Huffington Post notes that much of Obama’s address was aimed at Democratic lawmakers in the chamber, urging them to “solve some problems, not run for the hills,” and particularly pressing passage of health care reform. Yes, says Sarah Kliff on The Gaggle at Newsweek, but he “did not explain how, exactly.” On Politico, Carrie Budoff Brown and Meredith Shiner say Obama offered Democrats “words of encouragement but little else.”
Jobs: Healthcare reform wasn’t even mentioned until a half-hour into the address, Robert Pear and David M. Herszenhorn write for The New York Times; the focus was on jobs. On SFGate, Carolyn Lochhead says Obama “sharply shifted his attention to job creation.”
Editorials: The New York Times calls the address a reminder that Obama is “able to inspire with grand vision and the simple truth frankly spoken.” No, says the Washington Post, his speech was trying to promise too many things to too many people, “like a campaign speech, only longer.” The only lesson Obama seemed to take from the Democratic defeat in Massachusetts, says the Wall Street Journal, is that he “should keep doing what he’s been doing, only with a little more humility.” The Boston Globe call Obama’s proposals modest and the speech “defensive,” aimed at helping the President “regain his political footing.”
Instant poll: CBS reports its “instant poll” of people who watched the State of the Union Address found that 83 percent approved of Obama’s proposals. Not asked: “How often do you spend 70 minutes watching a prime-time speech by a politician you don’t like?” On The Huffington Post, satirist Andy Borowitz has his own take on the instand poll.
The effect: David Lightman and William Douglas of McClatchy Newspapers say Obama’s address probably won’t rally Democrats or bring Republicans into the fold. The speech “is unlikely to prove a game changer,” said Edward Luce in the Financial Times.
Off the screen: Newsweek’s The Gaggle offers five things you didn’t see on TV. Christopher Beam observes on Slate that the notion of bipartisanship hasn’t reached the Congressional laugh-track. And the Baltimore Sun blogs about what the state’s delegation was doing during the speech–nothing earth-shaking, but probably as well-read in Maryland as any weighty analysis.