State Of The Union Recap:

My fellow Americans, the State of our Union is...is...izzz....izzzzz....zzzzz......zzzzzz

International:
First cracks appear in the alliance over Iraq
Cracks have been emerging in the Iraq alliance of Tony Blair and George Bush.

In the first signs of a split, the U.S. ambassador to Baghdad said Washington would have preferred British and American troops to stay in Iraq "together". Read more here.

National:
Bush Gets His Answer: Senate Panel Passes Resolution Opposing Troop Escalation
The Senate Foreign Relations Committee on Wednesday passed a nonbinding resolution that concludes "it is not in the national interest of the United States" to deepen U.S. military involvement in Iraq.

The measure, passed on a 12-9 vote, goes to the Senate floor for a vote before the full chamber, which is expected sometime next week.

It vote is the first attempt by the new Democratic-controlled Congress to check President Bush's authority to send more troops to Iraq. The measure was opposed by all the panel's Republicans except co-sponsor Sen. Chuck Hagel.

"We better be damn sure we know what we're doing, all of us, before we put 22,000 more Americans into that grinder," said Hagel, of Nebraska, before the vote.

New Weapon For US Military?
The military calls its new weapon an "active denial system," but that's an understatement. It's a ray gun that shoots a beam that makes people feel as if they are about to catch fire.

Apart from causing that terrifying sensation, the technology is supposed to be harmless — a non-lethal way to get enemies to drop their weapons.

Military officials say it could save the lives of innocent civilians and service members in places like Iraq and Afghanistan. More here

Kerry rules out joining presidential race
In an emotional speech on the Senate floor, Mr Kerry, 64, who lost the White House by a narrow margin, admitted he had made a mistake in voting for the 2002 congressional resolution authorizing the invasion of Iraq. More here

"Hogwash"
In an interview aired on CNN’s The Situation Room, Vice President Dick Cheney dismissed as “hogwash” the suggestion that blunders may have hurt his credibility on Iraq. Wolf Blitzer told Cheney that conservatives in Congress “are now seriously questioning your credibility, because of the blunders and the failures.” Cheney responded: “Wolf, Wolf, I simply don’t accept the premise of your question. I just think it’s hogwash.” Watch it

In Other News…
President Bush used the word Iraq 37 times in his State of the Union last night, more than in any other year. He said the word "freedom" just three times, fewer than in any other year. (Compare word usage with this interactive graph.)

"Democrats took the first step toward a wartime repudiation of President Bush on Wednesday, convening the Senate Foreign Relations Committee to approve nonbinding legislation saying an increase in troops in Iraq is 'not in the national interest.'" Senators are working to combine two bipartisan anti-escalation measures to ensure maximum support.

The House yesterday joined the Senate and voted to strip pensions from lawmakers "convicted of crimes such as bribery, fraud and perjury."

"As chaos has deepened" in Iraq, the Iraqi Parliament "has been at a standstill." "Nearly every session since November has been adjourned because as few as 65 members made it to work," and officials fear "that members were losing confidence in the institution and in the country's fragile democracy."

Just two weeks after President Bush announced his escalation plan for Iraq, sectarian "violence in Iraq's capital has spiked in recent days, even as the first US and Iraqi government military reinforcements have deployed into the embattled city." One hundred Iraqis were reported killed or found dead and another 56 were wounded yesterday.

U.N. Secretary-General Ban Ki-moon, "on his first overseas trip as head of the world body," will pressure "Sudan's president next week to speed up the peace process in Darfur, which has been delayed by months of wrangling over the makeup of a larger peacekeeping force."

Fox’s Gibson: CNN Reporter Who Debunked Obama Smear Probably Went To The Same Madrassa. CLICK HERE TO LISTEN TO THE AUDIO

From The Right:
Hugh Hewitt: “So Let Us Find Our Resolve, And Turn Events Toward Victory.” First principles plus the resolve to defend them are the mark of great presidents, and it has always been so in the history of the country.

From The Left: William Rivers Pitt: The Tiniest President "There was, to be sure, keen public interest directed at Bush's audience for the speech, mostly focused on the woman sitting behind and above him. The mere presence of Nancy Pelosi in that high place, along with the majority crowd of Democrats arrayed across the floor below, at least partially explained the lemon-pucker grimace worn by Vice President Cheney throughout the evening."

Quote Of The Day:
"It's hilarious. The whole thing is hilarious."
Rush Limbaugh commenting on his cameo in Fox News' new Daily Show-style comedy show, which is already taping episodes.

(Sources: SeattleTimes, AP, FOXNews, CenterForAmericanProgress, ChristianScienceMonitor, DrudgeReport, ThinkProgress, NYT, TownHall, TruthOut, MediaBistro, DailyMail, WashingtonPost, USAToday, IraqSlogger, MSNBC)