Bank Reform Shatters Usual Party Lines

Establishment, Tea Party, libertarians all negative in different ways

(NEWSER) - With the Republican Party so divided, it's no surprise that its response to President Obama's State of the Union address would also be divided, notes the Washington Post . In addition to an official response by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels and a Tea Party response by Herman Cain, Mitt Romney and the other GOP candidates also weighed in:

• Cain's rebuttal focused on familiar Tea Party complaints—"Obamacare," "class warfare," and the "liberal media." Cain also addressed old sexual harassment allegations against him, noting that the "false attacks" derailed his campaign, but that accusations against Newt Gingrich failed because "the American people are waking up to dirty, gutter politics,” he said. “The American voters are saying, ‘We ain’t stupid.’"

Krugman: It's a 'disaster' for the country, and shows he'll surrender again

(NEWSER) - President Obama caved deeply in a debt deal that made the Republicans big winners, with both Andrew Leonard and Paul Krugman arguing that he "surrendered." Their take:

• “In the end, President Obama had to admit surrender,” writes Andrew Leonard in Salon , detailing “a smashing victory for the Tea Party and a crushing defeat for Democrats.” In Obama’s defense, he “had to choose between an awful deal or an outright catastrophe.” But he made a mistake in trying to sell it as a compromise. "The president said it was not 'the deal I would have preferred.' He should have said it's a bad deal that does not address the pressing needs of the nation," but one that he had no choice but to sign.

But Axelrod says Obama will veto any health care threat

(NEWSER) - Any Republican attempt to repeal health care reform legislation won't make it past President Obama's veto pen, top adviser David Axelrod tells the Huffington Post. The president is willing to give ground in other areas and is prepared to accept an across-the-board continuation of Bush-era tax cuts even for the wealthiest taxpayers, according to Axelrod. "We have to deal with the world as we find it—the world of what it takes to get this done," he said. More»

Obama's share of vote in 2008 best predictor of House Democrats' positions

(NEWSER) - Barack Obama may have sown the seeds to last night's victory with the one in 2008: House Democrats in districts Obama carried were much more likely to vote in favor of health reform. Retiring members aside, Nate Silver writes, “all 12 Democrats running in a place where Obama received less than 40% of the vote decided against the bill, whereas 195 of 202 running where he received a majority voted for it.” In Silver’s opinion, the vote hinged on the 2010 election for both the yeas and the nays. More»

Obama allowed Democrats to scorn Republican input: Rove

(NEWSER) - President Obama's televised question-and-answer session with House Republicans was a photo-op aimed at boosting his poll numbers instead of a real effort to seek input from the GOP, writes Karl Rove. The beleaguered president did get a modest bounce after the meeting, but it came at the expense of further alienating the GOP with his dishonest answers on the budget and stimulus package, Rove notes in the Wall Street Journal . More»