before the state of the union, he asked people if what they thought of the speech, even though there no way any of them could have seen it yet. >> what do you think of president obama's state of the union address last night? >> you know, it had different effects on different people, and you know, i just feel those effects affect everybody, you know? like, you've just got to stay positive, you've got to not focus on the negative. >> he was addressing what everybody was talking about, or -- >> reporter: which is what? >> um, i don't know. i haven't seen it. >> reporter: did you think that there was too much product placement in the state union? >> yeah, that kind of surprises me. kind of cheapens politics a little bit. >> reporter: do you think that joe biden embarrassed himself last night? >> very much so. >> reporter: so, what do you think about obama faking the heart attack at the end? >> i think that was more for shock value, not, you know, sympathy or what have you. >> it's the affect of the effect and it's classic that joe biden would always -- >> faking a heart attack, you know?

we'll talk about the state of the union, the state of the war in afghanistan and much more. i'm wolf blitzer. you're in "the situation room." in a few hours from now president obama will stand before the world to take his case for a second-term agenda. he'll let congress know that he's prepared to act alone and he's already acted it today, ordering a raise for federal workers. we have full coverage beginning with our senior white house correspondent jim acosta. jim? >> reporter: wolf, as of about 30 minutes ago, a senior white house official says they are still working on the speech but it will be ready by 9:00 tonight. another officil that i spoke with in the last 24 hours said that you should expect a few surprises in this speech and the president will use executive authority powers more than he ever has before and talk about that capacity in this speech tonight. one of those things we've already heard about today, he's going to talk about how he's going to urge the federal government to have a new minimum wage of $10.10 for federally contracted workers. that will be a par

tonight's state of the union address. >> there you have it. members of the supreme court and also members of the supreme court. they will be in attendance for tonight's state of the union address. there is the democratic leader, harry reid, as well. one prominent member is not in attendance tonight. >> back in the 1950s, it was the beginning of the nuclear air or -- era. it began to dawn on them they should not have the entire government under one roof at a time. branch began designating at least one cabinet officer not to attend. members were noticing that pattern. it became pretty audience -- obvious. they thought it was not a good idea to have all members of congress. it should have a couple of members not to be there in case there is an emergency. rarely are all of the members of congress there anyway. some of the senior members prefer to watch it on television. they don't get up to go out for an evening performance like that. some members are not even in town. there is always someone who is a way. in this case, they have officially designa

we should expect some surprises in the state of the union address. a senior official tells us that is mr. obama will call for more executive actions than he's ever before called for in a state of the union speech and that he will make another hard push for immigration reform as a potential area where there can be bipartisan work. white house sums up the speech in three words. they say opportunity, action, and optimism. cnn will be bringing you the first reaction to his speech and anderson cooper has more on that. >> jake, thanks very much. republicans are putting a new face on their official response to the president, kathy mcmorris rogers is the highest ranking republican woman in congress. she's also a mom. republicans are hoping she maybe will be able to help them improve their appeal to women. after the speeches tonight, we'll bring reaction from voters in the leadoff presidential battleground state of iowa. we put together a focus group of democrats, republicans and independent voters. they've dialed their responses to the president in realtime.

we'll take a look at what he called for in last year's state of the union speech, and how much of that actually got done. >> immediately after stay with us as we get your reactions live from around the country and across the globe. don't miss special state of the union coverage as only al jazeera america can deliver. right here on al jazeera america. the congress to hopefully shed line on immigration reform as a path to citizenship. for the center of american progress, he's in washington d.c. this morning. and good morning, mr. fietz. >> good morning, del. >> are you confident that this year immigration reform passes and are you sure why it pass it's. >> i'm confident that the president will be talking about the importance of find of bipartisan agreement with this congress, and this is obviously the issue that seems more teed up to have the senate has passed a bill by a bipartisan super majority and now it's up to the house to pass it. and we know that the pass republican conference is meeting in a retreat this week, and one of the things they will be discussing is how to move forward

>> as we gather here tonight, the state of our union is strong. >> the state of the union is strong. our economy is the healthiest it's been in three decades. >> tonight the state of our union is strong and together we will make it stronger. >> together we have cleared away the rubble of crisis. we can say with renewed confidence the state of our union is stronger. >> host of barney & company. stew, is the state of our union strong and will president obama start off the speech tonight? >> in my view, the economy, financial position of america is not strong. it is a position of weakness. number one, we've not recovered all of the jobs we lost in the great recession. we're behind where we were in 2007. debt, we've added $7 trillion. that's not strength, that's weakness. the middle class being squeezed. they are losing buying power. standard of living is down. that's weakness, not strength. overall economy the worst since any recession in world war ii. weakness, not strength. >> the president is not going to get out there tonight and say the state of the union is weak. >> no, he's not. >

of our union is strong. the state union is getting stronger. we've come too far to turn back now. >> we can say with renewed confidence that the state of our union is stronger. >> well, we want to hear from you about what you think the state of the union is. you've heard from our poll. the word "strong" is not a word that many people pitch. #sotuis or sotuis.msnbc.com. except it's 2 percent every year. go to e*trade and find out how much our advice and guidance costs. spoiler alert. it's low. it's guidance on your terms not ours. e*trade. less for us, more for you. her long day of pick ups and drop offs begins with arthritis pain... and a choice. take up to 6 tylenol in a day or just 2 aleve for all day relief. all aboard. ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ ♪ >>> each year it seems we get more responses to the state of the union. we'll hear the official republican response from kathy mcmorris rodgers, tea party response from senator lee and the rand paul response from senator rand paul. i'm not making that up. iliana latham will give the span

and still ahead, the curse of the response to the state of the union. several republicans have seen their stock drop in the wake of their state of the union rebuttal. but will this year be different, with host of republicans fighting for air time. up next, "crossfire" hosts. we asked people a question, how much money do you think you'll need when you retire? then we gave each person a ribbon to show how many years that amount might last. i was trying to, like, pull it a little further. [ woman ] got me to 70 years old. i'm going to have to rethink this thing. it's hard to imagine how much we'll need for a retirement that could last 30 years or more. so maybe we need to approach things differently, if we want to be ready for a longer retirement. ♪ mayo? corn dogs? you are so outta here! aah! [ female announcer ] the complete balanced nutrition of great-tasting ensure. 24 vitamins and minerals, antioxidants, and 9 grams of protein. [ bottle ] ensure®. nutrition in charge™. >>> in tonight's state of the union address, president obama will lay out his agenda

and susan says this is the weakest in terms of public opinion that president obama has ever come into the state of the union address. >> man, what a difference a year makes. just compare this state of the union to the one president obama delivered in 2013. then he had just won a second term. he had ambitious ideas. he called for passing legislation on immigration and gun control and taxes and entitlements. none got done. we're seeing a downsized dream this year, smaller proposals and a focus on the things he can do as president without counting on congress. >> so, he doesn't want to count on the congress. what will lawmakers have to say about that once the speech has been given? we're going to have a conversation at 6:15 live right here at the capital. the russell building with susan davis who has ideas about what we can expect to hear from the president and what congress members may say about what he has to say. in the meantime, i'm going to throw it back to you in the studio. >> thank you very much. just reminding everybody that they can watch the state of the union right here on wusa9. with derek and jan

fox's special coverage of the state of the union begins at 8:55 tonight. don't forget, we'll be live tweeting throughout the speech. join us using the hashta hashtag #foxnewschat. >>> executive action and not many new initiatives. the state of the union address shaping up to feature more confrontation than compromise. this is "special report." >>> good evening. i'm bret baier. president of the united states desperately trying to avoid the irelevance of lame duck status will tonight take another shot at outlining his second-term ajentda and what he's willing to do to accomplish it. his critics, and there are more of them now than ever, are already charging that some of those tactics are unconstitutional. we have extensive coverage tonight of the state of the union address. we begin with chief white house correspondent ed henry. >> officials here have pushed back by saying the president will make clear he's still willing to work with republicans on some issues, but as his time in office ticks away, he's not going to wait away when they block him, so his go it

cnn's coverage of the state-of-the-union address continues now. >>> on the state-of-the-union stage, middle class. >> the cold hard fact is that even in the midst of recovery, too many americans are working more than ever just to get by, let alone to get ahead. >> lead republican response is this part of an image makeover? a mother of three. >> i'd like to share a more hopeful republican vision, one that empowers you, not the government. >> can the president move past a disastrous 2014 or will his 2014 wish list be blocked by election politics? the biggest stories sourced by the best reporters now. >> welcome to cnn's continuing coverage of the state-of-the-union. i'm john king in washington. tonight the president spoke for more than an hour. he was conciliatory on some issues, reaching out to republicans on tax reform, on immigration. but a bit more confrontational, drawing some 2014 election lines on issues like equal pay, the minimum wage and other economic issues. here to talk it over with us,

al jazeera america special coverage of the state of the union continues now. with john seigenthaler in washington. >> good evening, tonight congress, the country, and the world await president obama's state of the union address, the tradition comes from article 2 section 3 of the u.s. constitution. you're looking live at the white house where the president and his visors have been revising his address that he'll give in two hours now. it comes during a troubled second term. president obama's approval rate something down and concerns about the economy are rising. the challenges facing the president and america. the issues are the same as he confronted last year, jobs, military, immigration reform and gay rights. joining me is joie chen and ray suarez and mike viqueira. in new york tony harris, ali velshi, richelle carey, david shuster, and on capitol hill libby casey. we have coverage and reaction from cities across the country and from our reporters in the nation and around the world. but to get it started joie chen is standing by to take a look at some of the

. >>> the state of the union depends on who you're talking to. it is tuesday, january 28th, and this is "now" live from capitol hill. >> the state -- >> of our union. >> there's a lot of pressure on this one. >> it's all about action. >> action. >> the call for action. >> taking action. >> a year of action. >> taking ae ining action is gee points on the board. >> 2013 was a lost year. >> he got two. >> bobble it up in my committee during a collection and so we can kill it when you're not looking. >> the country is strong and resilient. we in this room are a mess. >> my republican colleagues want to suppress any kind of activity that will make this president look good. >> they're always been good ideas parties can agree on. >> if i were a liberal democratic president, i would hammer republicans ornamentn mi wage every night, every morning, every day. >> the vast majority of the americans aren't going to pay attention to the speech. >> will a country that is so sour on washington actually listen? >>> it is the super bowl of politics. in just a few h

cnn's coverage of the state of the union continues now. >>> on the state of the union stage, a focus iddle class. >> the cold hard fact is that even in the midst of recovery, too many americans are working more than ever just to get by, let alone to get ahead. >> lead republican response is this part of an image makeover? a mother of three. >> i'd like to share a more hopeful republican vision, one that empowers you, not the government. >> can the president move past a disastrous 2013 or will his 2014 wish list be blocked by election politics? the biggest stories sourced by the best reporters now. >> welcome to cnn's continuing

today, the president kicks off a two-day, four-state trip pegged to expanding the themes of the state of the union, particularly the one big idea in the speech. >> opportunity -- opportunity -- opportunity -- opportunity -- opportunities -- opportunity -- opportunity -- opportunity -- the opportunity -- >> instead of the traditional laundry lit of policy proposals, the president's speech was crammed with anecdotes. it was also modest with no mention of entitlement reform, no big challenge of his party's ideology. the white house argues that last year the president did deliver a traditional speech with a host of policy ideas, some of which were bold ant went nowhere. so white house aides argued, if the white house can accomplish the realistic ideas. president obama gave frankly what i would call a political speech that wasn't partisan. it was designed to keep the democratic party united, give democrats an agenda to run on in 2014 but without actively poking republicans in the eye last night. the president did everything he could to avoid issues that divide his own party when, in fact, he didn't men

i'm andrea mitchell live from capitol hill for a special state of the union edition of "andrea mitchellorts." the state of our union is pessimistic, increasing the pressure on president obama to reignite hope for the last three years of his presidency. cecilia is the director of the white house council and joins me now from the white house. thank you so much for joining ugs. any last rewrites? what's happening behind the scenes? >> there's polishing going on of the draft as always happens on the day the president gives huz his speech and there's a lot of excitement here at the white house. we've been building up to this for a long time and policy development and communication is a big day here. >> we don't expect this president as disciplined and organized as he is is going to be rewriting the speech in the car the way bill clinton used to. but at the same time, will americans be listening tonight? so far what we've heard is that the big message, the biggest advance leak is a minimum wage increase to $10.10 an hour but only for federal contractors and new contractors. speaker boehner ha

state of the union is? ays strong. >> i'll just go with strong. >> i like jerry ford, better, but not good enough yet. >> i think the state of the union is getting incrementally stronger, and i would not suggest stating it that way in the speech. i think that's where we are. >> incrementally is not -- >> in the 90s we were big on that. >> jeff, we talk about the tinkering, presidents changing and editing. nobody did it more than bill clinton. >> a lot of rewriting. with the president on the big speeches, it was very collaborative. but by the time you're in the family theater, you shouldn't be messing with the substance of the speech. didn't always work out that way. >> president clinton making changes on the way to the capital. overstated? >> that is not overstated. >> what is it that makes a great speech writer? >> listening to your boss as much as possible. >> focus on the matter at hand. don't overwrite. >> you rarely get paragraphs crossed out. people say, no, no, no, that doesn't sound like me. if your

i'm andrea mitchell live from capitol hill for a special state of the union edition of "andrea mitchellstic, increasing the pressure on president obama to reignite hope for the last three years of his presidency. cecilia is the director of the white house council and joins me now from the white house. thank you so much for joining ugs. any last rewrites? what's happening behind the scenes? >> there's polishing going on of the draft as always happens on the day the

i think the ratings of this state of the union message are going to be low. that probably hurts me as much as anybody. to be honest, i think this is a big nothing event. >> 40% of college graduates are either underemployed or not employed at all, not working up to capacity because of this awful economy. i'm hoping we'll see a solid, genuine effort at a real program for growth. but if he just says, gee, we want opportunity. everything that's gone on as been counter opportunity. we have a right as americans to know there's going to be a positive program from the chief executive that the republicans can rally to to increase jobs and opportunity. >> we've had a lot of job creation during the obama administration. not as much as you want, not as much as i want but we've had significant job creation. he has to build on that. >> that's not true. >> it is true. >> it's a weird story, though. i got to say, this. i hear you and i know political divisions will fight but when you actually look at the data, only 58% of americans are working. that is the lowest numbers we'v

indra peterson's track of the storm damage and what's coming next. >>> the moments you missed from the state of the unionrun around congress a good idea? we are live with what voters thought about this speech. >>> from the state of the union to the state of unbelievable. a congressman threatening to break a reporter in two, threatening throw throw him off the balcony. a bizarre confrontation all caught on camera. >> as you like to say, not just throw you off the balcony, throw you off the blanking balcony. welcome back to "early start," everyone. i'm john berman. >> i'm christine romans. it's 31 minutes past the hour. we're following breaking news where ice and snow have paralyzed the region from the carolinas. you've got wrecks every, tens of thousands of people stranded. >> georgia hit the worst by this. this morning, the roads in and around atlanta just littered with cars and trucks. some of them just abandoned. some of them full of people. some people are sleeping in their cars in the middle of the road. the roads are so icy, it's like driving in a hockey rink. thousands had to sit all night. they co

how is the state of your union? g on to jerry willis -- gerriwillis.com. >>> one thing you can expect at the state of the union is the new general motors sitting in the vip box giving the president the perfect opportunity how the bailout of gm was a success. he saved the car industry >>> joining us now a senior research fellow at regulatory policy at the heritage foundation. welcome to the show. it's great to have you here. i really think there's going to be a lot of bragging about bringing the auto industry back from the brink. do you agree? >> yes. it's going to be a celebration of, you know, -- they may take out the champagne and post gm right on the spot. but there's nothing to celebrate though. gerri: we lost $10 billion on the thing. how can you be happy on something that cost taxpayers $10 billion? >> this is like the person who goes to a casino and brags how much money they won and they lost more than they won. but i won at lot of money. [laughter] it's a ask. gerri: i can just hear the -- compare gm with for

i would like to talk about the state of the union. what is the state of the union?hink we should all work together to better our -- it is too divisive right now. we are pitting republicans against democrats. we don't ask are you democrat a republican. we are all going to go down together. i think when obama made that statement, is about one job was to stop president obama. that was a slap in the face to every american. that is where the divisiveness started and it has been going downhill ever since. host: how do you think how the president addresses house republicans? guest: house republicans have been the fundamental obstacle to a lot of these programs. the caller is talking about mitch mcconnell, who is up for reelection this year. right from the beginning of president obama's administration, macconnell said one of his biggest priorities would be to ensure the defeat of president obama when he ran for reelection and to stop his programs. there was this argument being made on capitol hill to stop obama, not giving him much of a chance to be persuasive. that is true

the help and direction of the country, an address loosely defined in the constitution, that from time to time, the president gave to the congress information on the state of the union. now an annual tradition. a night when you can expect to hear that. >> the state of our union is getting stronger. into a night of political theater. today, seller thomas say its media who watch closely. >> often ridiculed for big laundry lists but their groups happy to hear that their issues mentioned. think the most important transformation has occurred in understanding that this is not really a report to congress. this is a speech to the nation. >> the president of the united states. >> the president's trim down the avenue is itself symbolic as he walked into the house chamber, members of congress plant themselves along the aisle for a hand shake, and a moment in the spotlight. some camping out for hours. it is a night of political pop, of applause, and ovations. or sometimes staying mum. the most explosive moment was a silent one, supreme court justice samuel leto mouthing not true, as the president criticized the court's citizens united designature on campaign finance. whether or

the pipeline? >> well, first of all, i don't think it's going to be a subject for the state of the union, because myf it is, there are lots of other things that need to be talked about in the state of the union. i think the president has been clear there's a process that's unfolding at the state department. the arguments can be made both ways for the pipeline and against the pipeline. and i think there is a -- we will see what the decision is that is made there in the future. >> do you support it? >> you know, for me, the keystone pipeline, frankly, the argument has been one that has not been framed in the right way. i think there are ways in which the pipeline could be built, at the same time major investments could be made in the carbon, the dakota grasslands and other places. but the argument has been too polemical to allow essentially a reasoned way to figure out a way of moving forward, because the oil is going to be consumed somehow here in the united states of america. canada is our greatest trading partner to the north. but the problem is that the way in which the debate has been formatted o

stay with us, we're coming right back, much more, straight ahead. >> state of the union depends on thef our military. retired army four-star general jack keane tells us what he wants to hear the president say tonigh welcome back. how is everything? there's nothingike being your own boss! and my customers are really liking your flat rate shipping. fedex one rat really makes my life easier. maybe a promotion is in order. good news. i got a new title. and a raise? management couldn't make that happen. [ male announcer ] introducing fedex one rate. simple, flat rate shipping with the reliability of fedex. she loves to shop online with her debit card. and so does bill, an identity thief who stole mary's identity, took over her bank accounts, and stole her hard-earned money. unfortunately, millions of americans just like you learn all it may take is a little misplaced information to wreak havoc on your life. this is identity theft. and no one helps stop it better than lifelock. lifelock offers the most comprehensive identity theft protection available. if mary had felock's bank account alert

nutrition that performs. >>> we're going to get back to our coverage of the state of the union in a fewbreaking news. this is a stowy washington, d.c. the president just wrapped up his state of the union address. meanwhile, the southeast is in trouble right now. dangerous weather conditions are creating a desperate situation for literally millions of americans. the governors of alabama and georgia have already declared a state of emergency. schoolchildren are trapped in schools because snow and ice have caused dangerous conditions on the roadways. on the roadways, people ran out of gas and were forced to ditch their cars and walk. let's check in with chad myers. chad, you're in new orleans where a layer of ice is covering the whole city. what's going on? >> reporter: this is what new orleans looked like, especially the bridges and the overpasses. all of that's, probably less than a quarter of an inch. but you can't drive on this at all. the bridges are closed. i-10, from lafayette over to almost the mississippi line, closed tonight because it's really a bridge all the way across there.

yes, it does affect me, because when my community suffers, i suffer as well. >> reporter: the state of the union is unsettled, and the people wonder if washington hears them. harry smith, nbc news, denver. >> as chuck todd said, an ominous backdrop. one more reminder here, live coverage of the president's state of the union address tonight, 9:00, 8:00 central time on this nbc station. >>> this was for what it's worth a good day on wall street in new york. the dow was up more than 90 points. the nasdaq gained more than 14. s&p was almost 11 points higher at the end of trading. >>> still ahead for us tonight, the surprising story out of london that involves the queen and the cost of living as she does. the big bills and money problems just revealed. >>> and later, remembering a real american folk hero, the legendary life of pete seeger. ♪ we shall overcome >>> we mentioned this before the break, an unusual story popped up across the atlantic in the u.k. today. it's about something we never really assumed to be a big issue for the queen and her royal household, and that's money. nbc's kate snow has

as a reason that this year's state of the union address will probably sound a lot like last year's state of the union address and that's because republicans in congress have made it pretty much impossible for president obama to accomplish any of his goals as chief executive enough is enough and president obama goes before congress and the american people tonight to make it absolutely clear that the time for republican sabotage is over if the poll numbers are correct americans know that congress is doing a bad job they just need the president to act like he knows that congress is do it . welcome to tonight's special state of the union politics panel joining me marc harrold libertarian commentator attorney and author of team o'mara president of the young democrats of america and newsome national advisory council with the project twenty one black leadership network thanks for all all of you for joining us but it's great to have you with us. shouldn't we just as a starting point shouldn't we really be talking about congress's failures not president obama is i mean they've been. from from two

first, president obama facing some frosty feelings among the electorate ahead of his state of the unionworse off. just 3% say the state of the union is strong. words folks used instead, divided, troubled, deteriorating. i'm willing to wager those are not the words the president will be using tonight but you may hear in one of the four, count them, four republican responses. i want to bring in the power panel with us now, keeren finney and robert tranum and "washington post" political columnist dana milbank. this is a power panel. president obama undoubtedly in a tough spot, talking tonight to a nation in a distinctly bad mood if you want to believe the poll numbers after five years in office, how does mr. obama reset? how does he hit refresh and get that hope and optimism going again? >> well, i think that's part of why you have in the runup to the state of the union, you've heard the administration officials talking about the president is going to be optimistic and positive and i think part of this idea of the phone and the pen is to denote

the senate, the house, the cabinet, all of them at the state of the union address. super bowl comes up. i need a manly bowl of yogurt. we will have that next. ♪ >> good morning>>, everyone. "bloomberg surveillance." certainlyiscussion -- on the state of the union. valerie jarrett will join us later. our guest host is the chief executive officer of vevo music. top headlines. >> the prime minister of ukraine has resigned. he is stepping down in hopes of ending the violence that has gripped the country for the last two months. antigovernment protesters have seized government buildings. a surprised interest-rate hike in india. the benchmark rates are raised for the third time in six months. inflation is battled -- being battled. the first woman to run a major automaker will be the guest of first lady michelle obama tonight. will be the guest of michelle obama at the state of the union address. those are the top headlines. >> very cool. a lot going on. ford earnings? >> they came out at the top of the hour. the stock is trading higher. investors are happy with what they

more state of the union coverage with wolf blitzer coming up next. >> official kick off of cnn's statef the union begins at the top of the hour. our senior white house correspondent brianna keilar has exclusive behind the scenes details how the president is preparing john king will take a close look at which promises the president made last year, which ones were kept, which ones weren't. also will anderson cooper, jake tapper, the full resources of cnn, that's coming up next. helps reduce the risk of heart disease. keep heart-healthy. live long. eat the 100% goodness of post shredded wheat. doctors recommend it. ♪ drimusic stopsusic ♪ music resumes ♪ music stops ♪ music resumes ♪ ♪ [announcer] if your dog can dream it, [whistle] purina pro plan can help him achieve it. nutrition that performs. [ male announcer ] what kind of energy is so abundant, it can help provide the power for all this? natural gas. ♪ more than ever before, america's electricity is generated by it. exxonmobil uses advanced visualization and drilling technologies to produce natural gas... powering our lives... while

president obama will address the nation tonight in his fifth state of the union. come and the economy are expected to be at the top of the agenda going into the state of the union address. u.s. and u.k. spy agencies are tapping into personal data in cell phones, according to edward snowden. the aleaked documents show how intelligence operations can take information from game apps. >>> the three hour negotiations session led to some progress for trubd syria. the government will appeal some of the antiprotest laws set in place earlier this month. >>> he is one of the main players in the bitcoin business and today he was placed in handcuffs. the co-founder of a bitcoin exchange company charged with laundering money. christian saloomi reports. >> bitcoins are a new form of currency but the charges filed against one ceo of a coin exchange company are pretty old fashioned, money laundering. charlie shrem. also 52-year-old robert fayella, a bitcoin trader. conspired to sell to users of the silk road since shut down. allowed users to buy and sell illegal drugs anonymously.

with his opponents on the right according to pew research center poll numbers on the eve of last night's state of the union address show that the president had an approval rating of forty three percent just two points higher than his all time low forty one percent last november last night's state of the union was no doubt an important speech for obama he needed to both redefine his own agenda heading into the second year of his second term and at the same time as the effective head of his party give democrats campaigning in this year's midterm elections a message to run on so how did he succeed joining me now for more on this is shannon bellows democratic candidate for the u.s. senate in maine and adam green co-founder bolpur resins and the progressive change campaign committee shana adam great to have you with us thank you for joining us so . first of all there were a lot of things that the president did. talk about last night in my long you know he didn't talk about card check he didn't talk about the carbon tax or even cap and trade he didn't talk just a whole whole bunch of these things. five years ago

one of the things people watch for in the state of the union address every year is not what the president has to say specifically about what the state of the union is. president pretty much always says it's great. the other thing people watch for is what the president's speech says about the state of the president. how's the president doing? can you tell from the speech how the president is doing in this point in his or her presidency? one notable feature of this year's state of the union from our famously cool, calm and collective president barack obama is at that speech the state of him, the state of the president, seemed kind of psyched. at least he definitely seemed happy to be there. >> tonight i ask every american who knows someone without health insurance to help them get covered by march 31st. help them get covered. moms, get on your kids to sign up. kids, call your mom and walk her through the application. that will give her some peace of mind, plus she'll appreciate hearing from you. >> pause for extra laughter. did you like that one? i thought that one up myself. call your mom.

the challenge, of course, is significant. when asked about the state of the union, the american people use words like, uncertain, downhill, on the wrong track. that's from our brand new nbc news/wall street journal poll. 90% of respondents, their first answer was negative. 31% think the country is better off than when the president took office. and his challenge tonight, lay out an agenda that restores confidence, saying he's both in touch with both people want and able to deliver what he's promised. >> 2013 was a lost year for the president. he was buffeted by crisis after crisis, and i think the test of this speech will be do the american people that do watch, do they feel like this president has a plan to get some of those things done, or is this just another speech out of washington? >> when it comes to getting something done, the president got two bits of good news overnight, a farm bill agreement was reached in congress, a fight that's finally over after two years, and a new republican plan that signals the gop is willing to deal on immigration reform. let me

of in the actual substance of this. this is not what republicans want to be focused on the day after the state of the union.to be drawing kind of clear, decisive differences between where democrats are and where republicans are, not on a, you know, almost potential altercation with one of their members of congress. >> you know people are going to be talking, and grimm since released a lengthy statement, calling the question a cheap shot, and he says he doubts he's the first member of congress to tell a reporter off. but here's my question to you, could grimm face political, maybe even criminal repercussions from threatening a reporter like that? >> well, i think as a reporter, you know, being dressed down by a member of congress is not necessarily shocking, but what was really the case here is the fact that it was caught on camera and that he didn't, you know, kind of go away from it or shy away from it all i think is something where this is a day, maybe two stories, but it won't have legs where i can imagine there will be official prosecution. >> quickly back to the state of the union. the president seemed

of the year tonight. the bad news is, his popularity is down. and second-term state of the unionso not get much attention. but he will do his best to ral eye will the democratic base and to push his policy agenda. and for that, he'll tell congress he would like their help but doesn't necessarily need it. >> president. >> reporter: president obama is expected to stand before the nation tonight and ask congress to help him pass his legislative agenda, creating jobs, an extension of unemployment benefits and immigration reform tops the list. >> he will use every means available to him. >> reporter: but he's also bringing a warning. the president is expected to say if congress won't work with him, then he'll use his executive powers to push his agenda forward. >> mindful of congress' reluctance to be cooperative at times, the president is going to exercise his authority. >> reporter: republicans say, instead of threatening them, the president should work with them. >> it's hard to convince people to get legislation so it takes consensus. that's what he needs to be doing is building co

what did you think of the state of the union? . >> you found it riveting. i think a lot of our viewers can relate. >> what? is it over? is it over? >> you and brit hume shared the same political analysis we'll have more of the interview tonight at 9:00 p.m . and if you missed focus groups we've posted them on our facebook page. and follow me on twitter, let me know what you think. thanks for watching. i'm megyn hhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh the union address. [ applause ] >>> welcome back to fox news coverage of president obama's state of the union address. it is the fifth time for this president and the second state of the union of his second term. the president is expected to push congress on issues like immigration reform and unemploynt benefits extension and a minimum wage hike. it is the smaller bite-sized agenda items that he says he can do with executive action. the white house seems to be preparing reporters for and to hear in recent days as we await the president's arrival wn the road onamber. pennsylvania avenue with chief w

this messaging free for all is kind of like "time" magazine honoring you as the person of the year. if you are giving the response to the state of the unionthe union. >>> coming up, our special "all in" state of the union coverage continues with rachel maddow, chris matthews, and the president's speech is just minutes away. stay right there. when does your work end? does it end after you've expanded your business? after your company's gone public? and the capital's been invested? or when your company's bought another? is it over after you've given back? you never stop achieving. that's why, at barclays, our ambition is to always realize yours. adding thousands of products online every day. from hard hats and goggles. to tools and cleaning products... to state of the art computers, to coffee to keep you fueled. from the sign over the door to the boxes to get it out the door. yes, staples has everything you need to launch your big idea. except your big idea. so when you get an idea, we're ready with everything else. staples. make more happen. in the nation, we know how you feel about your car. so when coverage really counts, count on nation

of the morning. president obama's state of the union is about 36 hours away, and what will almost certainly be his last best chance to set the political agenda in washington as president. the fact is, his next two state of the union addresses will undoubtedly be overshadowed by presidential politics and that means tomorrow night is the last time they'll have the political playing field all to himself. >> i think all of us in washington, the president included, need to do what we can to restore trust in our people. that's where the president will begin on tuesday night. what he's going to do is lay out a series of concrete, real, practical proposals on how we restore opportunity for all americans. >> we know the major themes for tomorrow night, income inequality and the economic recovery the two big ones. the trick is drawing the line between playing small ball and adopting a realistic set of goals. the white house insists they want an achievable set of goals more than anything else. and what the administration does not want is a state of the union like last year's, where the president went big on issue

the next couple of months. >> so, what can we expect tonight? the president mentioned 41 proposals in his last eight of -- state of the union. two were passed. we will have full coverage of the state of the union tonight at 9:00 p.m. on bloomberg television. the whole issue of income inequality got tom kurt -- tom perkins filed up -- fired up. we discuss recent comments regarding the holocaust in attacks on the one percent. and arctic chill in the entire midwest. how cold is it? about 22 below. look at lake michigan. that is cold. the deep freeze has forced school closures, train delays, flight cancellations, you name it. hang in there, chicago. ♪ >> this is "lunch money" on bloomberg television, streaming live on bloomberg.com, your tablet, and your smart phone. i am adam johnson. the founder of one of silicon valley's most prominent venture capital firms wrote a letter to "wall street journal that" he compared the nazi war on the then-one percent the jews to the current progressive war on the one percent. he wrote -- mr. perkins, your timing is impeccable. yesterday was international holocaust remembrance day. countries around the world com

of factors coming together here. the president continuing on these themes that he struck in the state of the union last night. mething a president -- this is something president obama has done hitting the road after the state of the union trying to press their advantage. in this particular case on this particular issue, not sure it will make a whole lot of difference for turn votes in congress. >> mike, hold on. we're going to take a break and reset the clock and go back 12 hours and take a look at the state of the union address. a very important address for those here at al jazeera america. it was our first. we'll be right back. >>> welcome back. i'm del walters in new york. this is the continuing coverage of the president's state of the union address last night. it's now been 12 hours. the president just moments ago taking the show on the road to lanham, maryland where he was at a costco store. he said that the average worker there makes $20 an hour. they begin at $11.50 an hour. mcviqueira is in maryland right now. you were there, the first state of the union address covered by al jazeera america. quite a m

quick reminder, tomorrow's state of the union. jake tapper is on tap with that. thanks so much for watching. "the lead" starts right now. >>> tomorrow night it is all but guaranteed, president obama will say the state of the union is strong but the state of things in d.c. right now, pretty damn dysfunctional. i'm jake tapper. this is "the lead." in politics lead, this time when president obama gives his state of the union speech, congress will be put on notice, we're told. the national lead. we know his name. how he got his game. but we don't know what possessed him to take it into a mall and murder two people. could his journal hold the key? >>> and the world lead. hey, russia, you wouldn't happen to know anybody, would you, about the billions of dollars siphoned away from the olympic budget? is it possible that the government of vladimir putin cannot be trusted? good afternoon, everyone. i'm jake tapper. we will begin with the politics lead. the reason we're here on the hill goes back to article 2, section 3 which says the president, quote, from time to time giv

thanks a lot. >> thanks. >> tonight's state of the union is the focus, of course, or our "gut check."ill push congress to be more productive? go to newsnation.msnbc.com to cast that vote. that does it for this edition of "newsnation." i'm tamron hall. we'll see you tomorrow with reaction to the president's state of the union address. "the cycle" is up next. yeah... try new alka seltzer fruit chews. they work fast on heartburn and taste awesome. these are good. told ya! i'm feeling better already. [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer fruits chews. enjoy the relief! ♪ [ male announcer ] new alka seltzer fruits chews. [ girl ] roses are red. violets are blue. splenda® is sweet. and so are you. [ female announcer ] just about anywhere you use sugar, you can use splenda® no calorie sweetener. ♪ splenda® lets you experience the joy of sugar without all the calories. it's a very good reason to enjoy something sweet with the ones you love. think sugar, say splenda™ [ chainsaw whirring ] humans -- sometimes life trips us up. sometimes we trip ourselves up. and although the mistakes may seem to

the united states. >>> a day after the state of the union address the president hits the road taking his message straight to the american people. >> and the new york congressman threatening a reporter on capitol hill right after the state of the union address. >> we begin with the weather of snow and ice storm hitting the south hard. those highways turned into parking lots when right in the middle of the storm people rushed to get home or even to pick up their kids. some of them wound up being stuck inside their cars for more than 14 hours. the governor hats since called the national guard to help out. there was a news conference held earlier in the day. >> we've not had any fatalities in the city of atlanta. we've 791 automobile accidents. our focus right now is to assist in any way with getting our freeways cleared. so we can start pulling people from cars, taking gasoline to cars that have run out of gas as a result of being on the road last night. >> lots of students in atlanta got stuck inside their classrooms. >> at 6:00 p.m. there were about 25,000 children who were either on buses or in their sch

after the state of the union, that's what a lot of people are talking about, exactly what happened. see what happened right after the state of the union? republican congressman from new york michael grimm threatened a reporter live on the air. look at this. >> this is only about the president. >> well, what about -- why [inaudible] [bleep] >> that's a staten island republican. in case you didn't hear it, he said if you ever threaten me or do that again, i'll throw you off this balcony, something along those lines. this all went down at the capitol rotunda. grimm was ticked off because a reporter asked him about a donor illegally funneling money to his campaign. grimm had this to say. the reporter took a cheap shot. i was angry and i have every right to be. what do you think about that? coming out of atlanta, an unbelievable story. 50 children have been stuck on school buses all night long. this story unfolding in the atlanta area. students got on buses around noon yesterday but there was such terrible road conditions with the snow and ice that it made driving simply impossible. there

of ddt were nearly four times higher in the blood of adults with the condition. the use of ddt was banned in 1972. >>> from the boston globe, guests at the state of the union addressst woman. >> and the teacher who talked down a gunman at an elementary school. guests have been invited traditionally related to themes of the state of the union. >> "san francisco chronicle" apple's iphone sales indicate demand may be fading. sales fell short. experts say this is proof that apple is losing market share to competitors like samsung. stocks fell 8% yesterday. one of the problems? >> yep. >> is when you break your iphone and you go back. you get sucked into an abusiness of trying to figure out how to replace it. >> this happens to you all the time. >> this happens to a lot of people. >> into the abyss? you have such awful luck with that. >> no, they just -- this is like almost a scam. >> people complain about the battery life. i've got at least another five, ten minutes left on my iphone. >> perfect. use it quickly. >> use my app. >> don't go out in the cold. >> i shan't. i shall not. >> quentin tarantino predatory journalism that the story was on the line and has no idea

>> pelley: tonight, the state of the union is cold. arctic air sends the mercury plummeting, and snow falling where it rarely does-- in the deep south. reports from manuel bojorquez and elaine quijano. major garrett on the president turning up the heat on republicans tonight, announcing he'll bypass congress to raise the minimum wage for some workers.we'l talk to house budget chairman paul ryan. >> sounds to me like he wants to go around the constitution. >> pelley: and anthony mason remembers folk singer pete seeger, his music and his message. >> pelley: good evening. this is our western edition. you can be sure the heat will be cranked up in the car tonight when president obama makes his way to the capitol for his fifth state of the union address. it's 19 degrees here, heading down to 14, and that's just tip of the iceberg across much of the country. the mid-atlantic states are getting another round of dangerously cold temperatures, and the south is seeing something it almost never sees-- snow. atlanta got about 2.5 inches, but that w

his fifth state of the union address. already meat some major moves, like increasing renouncing an increase in the minimum wage for federal contractors. >> that's right. and the white house says that move that's part of a new game plan to use more of his executive powers to get things done without congress. and we know everything has been written about congress in the past, for sure. the latest polls actually show the country is with the president on the minimum wage issue. a new cbs poll shows 72% agree with raising it from $7.25 to $10.10 per hour. only 26% oppose raising the minimum wage. >> they have big numbers. jim acosta joins us from the north lawn of the white house. jim, this poll shows support for the president on that one sort of specific issue, but his approval numbers under 50%, nine points lower than last year when he did the state of the union. he's no french president, who i think hovers around 17%. but on a scale of 1 to 10, what do you see of his chances to get that minimum wage raised for all americans