Click to viewThis turned out to be pretty awesome: Barack Obama took questions from the House Republicans today, and it was so embarrassing that Fox turned it off early. In case you missed it, here's the whole video.

The President is taking took questions from House Republicans, which is was pretty awesome.

Obama is serious about repealing Don't Ask Don't Tell and he has the Pentagon's backing. Here comes the fun part: Senator Carl Levin is just not sure if he has 60 votes for repealing it! Whee!

President Obama delivered his State of the Union address last night, mere hours after Steve Jobs' momentously hyped unveiling of the Apple iPad. Obama's speech was praised for its delivery, while Jobs' presentation fell flat. Here's how to fix it.

Barack Obama's first State of the Union was not a particularly soaring or pretty speech. But it was really the model every future president should look to when composing their own.

The problem with condensed Twitter URLs: You can't see where they go. White House correspondent Major Garrett tweeted a URL last night, and it went to a Vegas call girl website. Vegas, where some White House folks go next month.

THE WHITE HOUSE

Ah, the State of the Union address. 68 minutes of political theater sandwiched between hours of political punditry with a delicious side of everybody live-blogging it. There were some awkward moments and some serious ones, and some talk about gays.

It was like 2008 all over again tonight: The economy sucks (but not nightmarish) and Barack Obama gave a stump speech with a familiar, big close reminding us that everything that's wrong with the country is our own damn fault.

This probably won't end well. Following the President's State of the Union address tonight, Chris Matthews took to MSNBC's airwaves to declare that Obama is "post-racial," before stating, "I forgot he was black tonight for an hour." Update: Matthews "clarifies."

State of the Union time! There will be special commenting, and drinking, from your favorite bloggers, as long as your favorite bloggers are me! But what should we expect, and when should we drink?

Someone has dumped thousands of crazy anti-Obama fliers all over 68th and Broadway on the Upper West Side of New York. They are very, very crazy fliers, and there are a lot of them.

Alex Balk tries to make the case: "the iPad is a lot like Barack Obama..."

On messiah machine day, blogger Anil Dash wonders if all the free publicity mustered by Apple's marketing machine might just be better directed at something else. This piece was originally published on his blog.

The Lost premiere's crushing Obama's address and Apple's announcement in our Most Anticipated Event poll.

It sucks when news that you're under criminal investigation comes out during your civil trial. A judge in Shepard Fairey's legal fight with the AP today revealed that the lying Obama "HOPE" poster artist is being investigated for, yep, lying.

Judy Miller: whatever happened to her? Apparently she is summarizing the final report of a "bipartisan commission," for FoxNews.com. Obama got an "F" in saving us from hypothetical aluminum tubes or something. (Ahmed Chalabi, you may be interested to know, is a bigwig in Iraqi government, and still has his friends in high places.)

In the span of one week, Steve Jobs will unveil an Apple tablet; ABC will premiere the final season of Lost; and some guy named Barack Obama will address the "State of the Union." Which event will make your year?

Do you have spending freeze fever? Are you psyched for an increase in the child tax credit? Are you concerned about bioterror? Then does Barack Obama have a State of the Union for you!

• Is it possible that Natalie Portman isn't as sweet as she looks? She reportedly started seeing her new boyfriend, New York City Ballet dancer Benjamin Millepied, while he was still dating—and living with—his girlfriend of three years. Portman and Millepied began dating in the fall, but the girlfriend reportedly only got the shaft just after New Year's, poor thing. [P6]
• So are Brad Pitt and Angelina Jolie splitting up or not? One possible sign they are not separating: Pitt was seen returning to the LA home he shares with Jolie yesterday. One sign they are: A British tabloid reports Pitt "secretly" (or not-so-secretly) purchased "a bachelor pad to help him sort out his split from Angelina Jolie," and it's equipped with underground cave "where he can be alone and think about what he does next." Take your pick. [TMZ, DM]
• There's a new party boy in town at Sundance, and his name is Bill Gates. The 54-year-old nerd/philanthropist was spotted dancing on a banquette until 2am and confessed he was on the prowl for "that chick from Twilight" (Kristen Stewart), because he wanted to "see her movie." Or something. [P6]