CBS: Obama Taking ‘Valedictory Lap’ Offering ‘Message of Hope’

Prior to President Obama’s State of the Union address on Tuesday, CBS Evening News anchor Scott Pelley gushed that the President “will be taking what you might call a valedictory lap” as he starts his final year in office while Face the Nation host John Dickerson ruled that the President offers “a message of hope” compared to one that’s “fearful of change” made by conservatives and Republicans.
Curtis Houck

Matthews: Iran's Capture of Sailors a 'Party Favor' to Donald Trump

Moments after playing a fresh soundbite from a political rally in which Donald Trump blasted President Obama over Iran, Chris Matthews characterized the Islamic Republic's capture of 10 U.S. Navy sailors – one of whom is female – as a "party favor" or "door prize" for the Republican presidential candidate.
Ken Shepherd

Slate Writer: Ted Cruz Is a ‘Passionate, Indefatigable Liar’

William Saletan has done a deep dive into Ted Cruz’s statements regarding the Senate’s 2013 debate on immigration reform. Saletan’s conclusion, to adapt a line from Seinfeld, is that Cruz’s shadiness is real, and it’s “spectacular.” He calls Cruz “a passionate, indefatigable liar” and alleges, “For him, truth isn’t a matter of plain meaning. It’s a matter of technicalities.” In a 3,600-word…
Tom Johnson

ABC, NBC Skip Bad Obama Polls Before SOTU; Need to 'Recapture' Magic

In the Tuesday evening newscasts before President Obama’s final State of the Union address, ABC’s World News Tonight and NBC Nightly News failed to mention any of the poor polling numbers for President Obama on a variety of issues but instead hailed the President’s “big themes” in a speech “trying to recapture the hope and change of when he first took office, despite the setbacks and gridlock…
Curtis Houck

Matthews: Obama Not 'In the Position' to Give Iran Ultimatum

On special pre-State of the Union coverage on MSNBC moments ago, Hardball host Chris Matthews unwittingly admitted President Obama's weakness vis-a-vis Iran as regards the Islamic Republic's capture of 10 U.S. sailors.
Ken Shepherd

Open Thread: Obama's 'Walking Dead' State of the Union

Consider this your special Open Thread for State of the Union night. To kick things off, here's a funny tweet by @GayPatriot.
NB Staff

Mitchell Frets Iran Seizing Sailors Has Made ‘Frantic' Scene for SOTU

Hours before President Obama’s final State of the Union address, NBC News chief foreign affairs correspondent and MSNBC host Andrea Mitchell took to the airwaves of Tuesday’s NBC Nightly News to complain that Iran seizing 10 U.S. Sailors had created a “frantic” situation for the President that “could not have happened at the worst time.”
Curtis Houck

Wisconsin Fans Banned from Having Fun at HS Games by PC Obsessed Board

If you were sitting there wondering how a country that produced John Wayne, Charlton Heston, and Chuck Norris could, in the space of only a few generations, also produce the man-bun, the V-neck t-shirt, and Zac Efron, I think I’ve found the answer.
Dylan Gwinn

Heilemann: Chelsea's Health Insurance Attack on Sanders a 'Lie'

Proving that there is nothing and no one she won't sacrifice on the altar of her political ambition, Hillary Clinton today sent her daughter Chelsea out to smear Bernie Sanders by claiming his health care plan would "strip millions and millions and millions of people of their health insurance."  On today's With All Due Respect, Mark Halperin repeatedly said he was "stunned" by the attack. John…
Mark Finkelstein

MSNBC's O'Donnell and Frank Rich Talk Up Anti-Cruz Birtherism

On Monday's The Last Word with Lawrence O'Donnell on MSNBC, host O'Donnell and Frank Rich of New York magazine talked up the possibility that GOP presidential candidate Ted Cruz is not really a natural-born U.S. citizen and therefore not eligible to serve as President. Rich, a former New York Times columnist, praised GOP presidential candidate Donald Trump as "brilliant" for pushing the issue…
Brad Wilmouth

CNN's Costello: Trump, Sanders Are Both 'Extreme;' 'No Nuance'

Carol Costello surprisingly lumped in Senator Bernie Sanders with Donald Trump on Tuesday's CNN Newsroom: "Donald Trump is suggesting mass deportations and big tariffs to fix the economy. Bernie Sanders is offering things like free college tuition and huge tax increases. These things are extreme. Yet...they're being accepted by many voters." Costello later played up that "there's no nuance in…
Matthew Balan

Iran Acting Like Persian Gulf AAA, BuzzFeed Editor Spins

"I could be VERY WRONG but this feels more like Iran acting as Triple AAA than the Iranian Hostage Crisis Redux," ThinkProgress alum and BuzzFeed World News Editor/Reporter Hayes Brown tweeted earlier this afternoon. 
Ken Shepherd

Pelosi on MSNBC: No One Cares What Clinton Did ‘Decades Ago’

Appearing on MSNBC, Tuesday, Nancy Pelosi insisted that the sex accusations against Bill Clinton are not important because he’s not the one running for president and that no one cares about “what Bill Clinton did two decades ago.”  
Nicholas Fondacaro

Obama Invites 3 More YouTube Interviewers; One Dreams of Torching Cops

Rush Limbaugh ably mocked this Politico headline from State of the Union Day: “Obama struggling to get attention for the State of the Union.” White House reporter Sarah Wheaton pretended that Obama somehow wasn’t the toast of cable news or the recipient of a boatload of Today coverage on NBC live from his executive mansion. The White House strategy also includes another round of interviews with…
Tim Graham