State of the State of the Union

The world is still buzzing about tonight's big event . . . and, no, I'm not talking about Vandy's victory in Knoxville.

The State of the Union address (transcript) mixed lofty ideals with plain-spoken frankness, appeals to bipartisanship, some boring sections, and, of course, political maneuvering -- and managed to sprinkle in a fair amount of humor as well.  Obama mostly emphasized past actions and future proposals with which centrists and conservatives would agree, including tax cuts and a proposed spending freeze.  But he also spent time focusing on the partisan rancor in Washington, with his pointed remark that "we were sent here to serve our citizens, not our ambitions."

Now that the Republicans control 41 seats in the senate, the 57 Democrats and 2 Independents can't break a filibuster without at least one Republican vote.  Rallying 60 votes to gain cloture has proven more and more difficult recently.  As such, Obama turned to the Republican side of the aisle and intoned:

And if the Republican leadership is going to insist that 60 votes in the Senate are required to do any business at all in this town, a supermajority, then the responsibility to govern is now yours, as well. Just saying no to everything may be good short-term politics, but it's not leadership.

Here's a play-by-play of the speech, and here's a concise wrap-up.

Coverage from the:
NY Times
Wall St. Journal
CNN
The Economist