• Rep. Allyson Schwartz (D-PA) calls in at 8:30am Pacific to give us her thoughts regarding the President’s State of the Union address.
• Declaring “I don’t quit,” President Barack Obama fought to recharge his embattled presidency with a State of the Union vow to get jobless millions back to work and stand on the side of Americans angry at Wall Street greed and Washington bickering. Defiant despite stinging setbacks, he said he would fight on for ambitious overhauls of health care, energy and education.
• The nation cannot afford the spending Democrats have enacted or the tax increases they propose, Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell said Wednesday in the Republican response to President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address.
• Today, President Obama will fly out to Tampa, Fla., where he’ll tour a maintenance hangar and greet crew members who work on aircraft that refuel other planes midair. The KC-135 Stratotankers have been involved in refueling planes flying aid into Haiti. After that, Obama and Vice President Joe Biden hold a town hall meeting at the University of Tampa. There, they’ll announce $8 billion in funding for a national high-speed rail system, an initiative the White House says will create jobs.
• Ford Motor Co. says it made $2.7 billion in 2009, its first annual profit in four years. Ford says it benefited from cost-cutting, debt reduction and popular cars and trucks like the Ford Fusion sedan and Escape SUV. It’s enjoying customer goodwill for avoiding bankruptcy and refusing federal aid.
