- It turns out that in the wake of last night's State of the Union speech, Obama has finally completed his transformation into an imperial socialist monarch. (The obvious response:Sue him!)
- But most liberals think he didn't go far enough. This morning, the Internet resounded with the grievances of disappointed advocates who had hoped that their issue would make it into this most important of all speeches.
- David Corn chided Obama for "letting the Republicans off easy." The president even dared to name John Boehner, the son of a bartender, as a symbol of the American Dream. (But he might have just done it to see Boehner blush.)
- The president may have been assertive on climate change, but natural gas was the big winner last night, which made environmental groups none too pleased. "We can't drill or frack our way out of this problem," said Michael Brune, executive director of the Sierra Club. "Make no mistake-natural gas is a bridge to nowhere."
- For the first time, Coloradans could light up during the State of the Union. But Obama made no mention of his "evolving" views about the drug, nor his position on sentencing reform. Marijuana Majority founder Tom Angell called this omission "shameful."
- Although it took place just hours after the House voted to permanently restrict Medicaid coverage of abortion, reproductive rights didn't make it into the speech either.
- Then there's the amazing case of the vanishing plea for gun control. Last year, Obama closed his speech with an emotional plea for tighter gun laws. Last night, he only gave the issue two sentences.
- If Edward Snowden was hoping for a shout-out, he was gravely disappointed. So was pretty much anyone who thought the president would talk about the ongoing NSA surveillance scandal.
- Despite his declaration, last week, that sexual assault on college campuses and in the military is an "affront" to society, Obama neglected to mention either issue. Nora Caplan-Bricker wonders if the issue was too "messy" for the president's script.
- Really, though, we all felt the absence of some good honest talk about drug-resistant bacteria.
Daily Meme: Monday Morning Quarterbacking the State of the Union
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