‘I’ve never seen anything like it.’ USA Today’s Rex Huppke on President Biden’s State of the Union address last night: Republicans “ran at him like a pack of lemmings and, with a wink and a grin, he politely directed them to the cliff.”
■ Columnist John Stoehr predicts it’ll be remembered as “the night the old man handed them their asses.”
■ Charlie Sykes at The Bulwark: It was “kind of entertaining in a Theater of Performative Jerkitude sort of way.”
■ Biden’s off-script assertion that America will “need oil for at least another decade” drew mocking laughs from Republicans.
■ Jeff Greenfield for Politico: Biden’s speech worked because “he had a clear political message, and his populist outrage sounded genuine.”
■ The Sun-Times’ Lynn Sweet lists nine takeaways.
■ PolitiFact spotted some “half-truths” and “significant errors” in Biden’s speech—but found his assertions on behalf of a ban on assault weapons “mostly true.”
■ Columnist Jessica Valenti complains reproductive rights got just 30 seconds: “If President Biden gave American women any message … it’s this: We’re on our own.”
‘Who is gonna tell Sarah she’s not on Team Normal?’A key line in the Republican response from Arkansas Gov.—and former lying White House press secretary—Sarah Huckabee Sanders drew scorn on Twitter …
Romney vs. Santos. Republican Sen. Mitt Romney told dissembling Rep. George Santos (R-Broadway Flop) last night, “You don’t belong here” …
■ … and Romney told reporters afterward, “He shouldn’t be in Congress. And they’re gonna go through the process and hopefully get him out.”
■ Also: “He’s a sick puppy.”
Welcome, Mr. President. He’s headed to Madison, Wisconsin, today—where he’ll encounter pressure to support Chicago for the 2024 Democratic presidential convention.
■ He was set to promote his economic plans—and their benefits to a swing state.
‘Don’t … tell me to quiet down.’ In a WTTW forum last night, Mayor Lightfoot accused her challengers of patronizing and mansplaining to her.
■ The Tribune says the night’s most contentious exchanges followed a question about Chicago’s laughably lousy “gang database.”
■ See the full debate here.
■ Streetsblog Chicago compares each of the candidates’ transportation platforms to actual CTA platforms.
■ Ready to map your vote? The Chicago Public Square election guide’s ready, willing and able to help.
‘Police should chill the f**k out.’ Columnist Mona Charen proposes a modest improvement in the nation’s law enforcement: Order cops to cut out the foul language.
■ Chicago cops called to a Northwest Side bar early today shot someone.
Hope fading. With a death toll topping 11,000, the hunt for survivors in the earthquake that devastated Syria and Turkey was coming up short.
■ Poynter’s Tom Jones: “It’s nearly unfathomable … how high the death toll is going to increase.”
‘Which books will be banished?’ Popular Information takes a critical look at a book considered pornography in Gov. Ron DeSantis’ Florida.
■ Misinformation monger Joe Rogan is under fresh fire from the Anti-Defamation League and Rogan’s fellow comedians for antisemitic remarks on his Spotify podcast.
Thanks. Mike Braden made this edition better.