Tired of Old Issues, Nice Summations on Possibilities for Progress

Bill Keller nails the state of politics in the United States.

"To help appreciate President Obama’s fifth State of the Union address, with its to-do list of executive actions and its implicit fatalism about working with Congress, I suggest a preliminary visit to that citadel of reason, the Republican Party. There, the great minds and loud voices of the right are debating whether to adhere to the strategy of confrontation and sabotage that appeases the radicals in the conservative base, or to introduce a measure of pragmatism that might broaden the party’s appeal."

Link to the complete column

And Tom Egan describes the State of the Congress.

"For some time now, the Republican House has made it clear that they have no intention of governing. They shut down the government for 16 days, in case you didn’t get the point. And on Tuesday, they seemed more interested in having their pictures taken with the “Duck Dynasty” guy than finding middle ground with the American majority."

Tom Egan sums up the State of the Union 

And Thomas Friedman sums up where we are on the path with the Israeli's and Palestinians.  

Link to Friedman