Daily Political Wire

George Wenschhof

State of The Union Speech Well Received - in total, it was a very good speech, but fell short of a "Sputnik moment". The president delivered a bipartisan speech which flowed with mentions of issues important to both Republicans and Democrats.

The overall theme of the need to innovate and educate was solid and one most Americans could relate to.

The Washington Post has a section devoted to reviewing the speech here.

The NY Times has their take here.

Politico.com has more here.

... and the Wall Street Journal adds their thoughts here.

Quick polls following the speech indicated an overwhelming percentage of viewers approved what President Obama mentioned.

CNN/Opinion Research had 52% of viewers had a very positive reaction and another 32% has a somewhat positive rating.

CBS News/Knowledge showed 92% approved of the president's proposals.

Look to see the overall approval ratings for President Obama to receive a 3-5 point bump following this speech. This will continue the upward trend he has received since his success in the lame duck session of Congress and his excellent speech delivered at the Tucson memorial.

---

Representative Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) Gives GOP Response - having to follow a speech by President Obama is not an easy task and Ryan was hardly up to it. He basically stuck to Republican themes of less spending and less government. CNN.com has more here.

---

Tea party Favorite Michele Bachmann (R-Minn.) Gives her Two Cents - in an odd moment, Representative Bachmann felt the need to deliver her own response. You can read it here.

Long an odd duck in Minnesota politics, she has elevated herself to further silliness with this speech. MSNBC commentator Chris Matthews described her best when he referred to her as a "balloon head" - a comment I felt was being kind.

---

Rahm Emanuel Stays on Ballot - thanks to the Illinois Supreme Court issuing a Stay on the Illinois Appellate Court decision to remove him from the ballot. A pivotal decision as ballots were just sent to the printer. The Illinois Supreme Court will hear the case quickly as the primary election is nearing. You can read more here.

---

To receive "Daily Email Updates" from Air-it-Out with George Wenschhof, click on "Subscribe to this feed" below or use the sign up box located in the upper right hand margin.