Theda Skocpol on Obama's speech:

In such marked contrast to the timid triangulation of Clinton, Obama offers a strong, positive statement of the role of U.S. government in national development, past and for the future. Government does not "substitute" for business or individual action, but it is an essential "catalyst." Regulation has to be there to make markets "healthy." Obama invokes examples across the sweep of our history to illustrate and motivate the new round of federal government initiatives he now promises to lead -- and he names the major challenges that require major federal investments: in health care, energy, and education.

Booman on Jindal's fifteen minutes:

I don't know if he expects the Louisiana Comptroller to fix the problems at Bank of America or if he thinks the president should beg the governors to create jobs when they're facing record budget deficits. Who knows what he thinks, because none of it makes any sense. When I say that 'We're all liberals now', I don't mean that everyone is now literally a liberal or even that the Obama administration is pursuing a purely progressive agenda on all fronts. What I mean is that the argument against Federal action is dead. The issue of states' rights is dead. We [are] all liberals now because all our options are liberal options. No one gives a [heck] what Republicans think anymore and they just want them to shut the [heck] up.