Obama: All Americans Deserve a 'Fair Shot'

Pundits see president's speech as a populist offensive

(NEWSER) - President Obama delivered a feisty, populist State of the Union address last night ( excerpts here , pictures here ), and naturally pundits are dissecting and grading it today. Here's what they're saying:

• "Obama had a simple message for Republicans: Game on," writes Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post . What on the surface was a typical post-partisan Obama speech was actually full of populist challenges to Republicans. "This is Obama version 2.0: Harder, more cynical but perhaps also more effective."

President says restoring American dream our 'defining issue'

(NEWSER) - President Obama delivered his third State of the Union address tonight, with a focus as expected on economic inequality and the need for all Americans to get a "fair shot" at success, reports CNN . In fact, Obama called keeping the promise of the American dream alive the "defining issue of our time." (That includes revamping the tax code, he said. Details on his Buffett rule pitch here .) More»

'Fire-breathing' Obama was impressive, writes Tom Shales

(NEWSER) - It wasn't quite "No More Mr. Nice Obama," but America did see a tougher President Obama than usual in last night's speech, writes Tom Shales. The president was "breathing fire" before the House and Senate members, acknowledging mistakes and disappointments over the last year, but refusing to "whimper or express regret," Shales notes in the Washington Post. More»

'Educator-in-chief's' address worked sometimes

(NEWSER) - President Obama delivered some highly effective moments and some fizzles in his uneven State of the Union address, writes Tom Schaller. His pledge to mend Washington works is fine if it's merely rhetoric to put Republicans on their heels, but he should know by now that "making nice" won't get things done, Schaller writes at FiveThirtyEight. More»

He needs another speech on par with the one about Rev. Wright

(NEWSER) - If President Obama hopes to pull off a winning speech tonight, he might look back to candidate Obama for guidance, writes Johnathan Cohn. Remember the Jeremiah Wright controversy, when Obama faced the first "speech of his life"? Most candidates would have taken the politically easy route of disavowing Wright for his charged racial comments. Instead, Obama gave a nuanced speech on race relations and won the day. More»