Free Republic

U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts said Tuesday the scene at President Obama's State of the Union address was "very troubling" and the annual speech has "degenerated to a political pep rally." Obama chided the court, with the justices seated before him in their black robes, for its decision on a campaign finance case. Responding to a University of Alabama law student's question, Roberts said anyone was free to criticize the court, and some have an obligation to do so because of their positions. "So I have no problems with that," he said. "On the other hand, there is...

<p>A top White House adviser says it's gotten to the point where almost any unusual reaction or outburst to a speech by President Barack Obama in the House chamber isn't really that unusual.</p> <p>Obama aide David Axelrod was talking about Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito's reaction to Obama's State of the Union address last week.</p>

<p>In the case of Barack Obama v. Supreme Court of the United States, that was some oral argument on Wednesday night. With the Justices arrayed a few feet in front of him in the House chamber, President Obama blistered their recent decision defending free political speech for corporations and unions. As Democrats in Congress and Cabinet members rose and applauded around them, the Justices sat stern-faced, save for Samuel Alito, who was seen shaking his head and mouthing the words "Not true."</p>

Stand-up comics call it a "tough crowd," but then tough crowds are part of their business. It's a whole other matter to be met with cold stares when you are the President of the United States, talking in prime time before a joint session of Congress, when your party controls both chambers by historic margins. President Obama spoke the first 676 words of his State of the Union address on Wednesday night before the first hand clap. His tone was so somber, and the room's mood so grave, that no one moved when Obama said, "We must answer history's call."...

As President Barack Obama prepares to deliver his first State of the Union Address, he faces some bleak economic predictions from congressional budget analysts. The Congressional Budget Office (CBO) on Tuesday projected slow improvements in employment and warned of an unsustainable longer-term fiscal situation against a background of rising debt. The CBO projections came as the president vows to press ahead to achieve major policy changes he says the American people expect, such as health care and financial system reform, while recognizing signals sent by voters in Massachusetts where a Republican was elected to a traditionally Democratic Senate seat. As...

Democratic election expectations were crumbling Monday after a leading Senate recruit declined to run and another lawmaker announced his retirement. Rep. Marion Berry’s (D-Ark.) departure and Beau Biden’s (D) decision not to pursue the upper chamber came after Democrats said they expected the opposite. And now the party, which has said it doesn’t expect lots of retirements, is facing the possibility of several more. It is the latest bad news for Democrats in a cycle with a growing number of open seats and candidates bowing out. Berry became the sixth House Democrat to retire from politics, and all of those...