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- Kathleen Parker thought it was noteworthy that the the president's speech about American Exceptionalism didn't actually use the term "exceptional," so in an exclusive interview with John Boehner, she asked him about it. Replyeth the speaker: "They've refused to talk about America exceptionalism. ... They reject that notion." I assume by "they" Boehner is referring to the bunch of socialists who call themselves Democrats, but I digress. Perhaps this is just a way for conservatives to cope with the fact that the president took away one of their chief criticisms of him.
- I'm not terribly interested in the inaugural meeting of the Senate Tea Party Caucus, insofar as Senate sub-caucuses have little influence in a body that caters to individual senators, but I am interested in how House Tea Partiers are going to deal with the reality that votes on their agenda will be purely symbolic. How much of a revolt would it take to pose a serious challenge to the Republican leadership? What will be the price for freshmen members if they end up prizing partisan loyalty over "virtuous extremism?"
- It's a tough call for the winner of the daily "News" that Doesn't Matter prize, but I'd certainly nominate a) taking seriously the prospect of a Sharron "couldn't even beat Harry Reid" Angle presidential run; b) revelations about the identity of the anonymous author of an Obama book so bad not even conservatives could get through it; or c) that Mitch Daniels -- here's Politico's bracing 190-word writeup -- watched basketball instead of the SOTU address. Vote early, vote often in the comments.
- Remainders: Bipartisan agreement has been reached on keeping the U.S. Senate dysfunctional; New York Times executive editor Bill Keller talks WikiLeaks; I'm all for using charts to "enhance" presidential addresses, but please make them accurate; two-thirds of Californians back state tax increases; and I love this concept of information feudalism. Love it.
--Mori Dinauer
