* As I’m sure you all know, tonight is President Obama’s last State of the Union Speech. For some great pre and post commentary, Paul Glastris – editor-in-chief of the Washington Monthly – will be on on Ian Masters’ radio show Background Briefing at 8:45 (ET) before the speech and he will also be doing post-speech analysis with Julie Mason on SiriusXM Radio’s POTUS Channel 124.
* To watch the actual SOTU speech, the White House has made a lot of alternatives available.
For the first time, this year SOTU will be available to stream on-demand on Amazon Video, in addition to on wh.gov/sotu and our YouTube channel. And beginning Wednesday through the end of the week, Amazon will make the speech available across all devices for Americans to watch the State of the Union in the same way we’re used to consuming video content in 2016. So, for those who’ve cut the cord from cable and network TV: Whether you use a smart TV, web browser, mobile device, or tablet there’s a way for you to watch the President’s speech as it happens and on-demand.
And as in past years, you’ll be able to watch video excerpts released in real-time on Facebook and Twitter. From live GIFs on Tumblr to 6-second videos on Vine and photos on Instagram, we’ll build on previous efforts to connect with users across a range of social media sites and make the experience of the speech appropriate to each platform.
* You can find the list of Michelle Obama’s guests for the SOTU here. You may remember that Congressional Democrats were asked to invite Muslim guests to the speech in response to all the fear-mongering coming from Republicans. As an example, one of my Senators – Al Franken – will host deli-owner Abdirahman Kahin.
* On Friday, January 16th at 2:15 (ET) President Obama will do post-speech youtube interviews.
The President will sit down with Destin Sandlin, an engineer from Alabama who explores the world through science on his education channel; Ingrid Nilsen, a 26-year-old from California who creates lifestyle content and inspired millions of fans when she came out on YouTube, and; Adande Thorne, better known as sWooZie, who’s a Florida native, professional gamer and video animator.
* The Politico Pro Staff have a good rundown on “Obama’s State of the Union Wins and Losses.”
State of the Union addresses are often judged by how many times Congress applauded — or jeered, what pundits thought of the rhetoric and who appeared as special guests in the House gallery. POLITICO examined dozens of these plans and promises in advance of his final address Tuesday night and found that Obama won more than he lost — though the most-likely outcome for any idea was somewhere in the middle.
* Finally, while you’re waiting for the SOTU speech, here are a couple of very interesting things to read:
(1) Andrew Yarrow writes about ten numbers that explain the roots of white male rage,
(2) Jonathan Schwabish and Elaine Waxman outline the benefits of SNAP in response to Jeb Bush’s plan to eliminate the program and replace it with “Right to Rise” grants.
