Obama: Less kind less gentle . . . The GOP hoped Obama would be humbled by the midterm elections that saw Democrats swept from power in the Senate. Instead, when Obama delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of Congress completely controlled by the GOP on Tuesday, Republicans will see a confident Obama who is bullish about his own approval ratings and no longer worried about anyone else’s reelection. The Hill

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McDonough takes the blame for Paris . . . White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough took the blame Tuesday for the failure of President Obama or another senior official to attend the march for free speech in Paris earlier this month. White House Dossier

Nonsense. If Obama really wanted to go, he would have gone. He's the president.

Obama plans raise labor costs $5 per hour . . . That's the combined cost of adding the president's proposals for a higher minimum wage, more paid sick leave and the health coverage mandate of the Affordable Care Act, popularly known as Obamacare, to the bottom line for employers. Free-market economists say spiking labor costs that much will push businesses to hire fewer workers. Washington Examiner

I thought this president was all about "creating jobs?" Much busier redistributing wealth.

Obama's leftward lurch divides even further . . . President Obama’s plans to go big and lurch left with new tax and spending proposals is getting praise from the left, but they are almost certain to widen the divide with the Republican Congress. Washington Examiner

Obama SOTUs past: Mixed results . . . Close Guantanamo. End the Iraq war. Tax the rich. Increase nuclear power. Drill for oil in the Atlantic. President Obama called for all these initiatives and more in previous State of the Union speeches. Some came to pass; others did not. Fox News 

Warring SOTU Cuba guests . . . For the image of a new era in Cuba, President Obama and First Lady Michele Obama will have as their guest at the State of the Union address on Tuesday Alan Gross, whose recent release was part of a deal to restore diplomatic relations between Cuba and the United States. For the image of Cuba’s dark side, Sen. Marco Rubio will have as his guest Rosa María Payá, the daughter of Oswaldo Payá, a prominent dissident who died an automobile accident in 2012 that she, and others around the world, allege was caused by Castro government officials. Fox News Latino

Dobbs: Jarrett diminished march, calling it a "parade" . .. “Not once, but twice, she referred to that march as a parade, dismissing and apparently trying to trivialize an unprecedented show of solidarity and European opposition to radical Islamists,” said Fox Business News host Lou Dobbs. White House Dossier

Michelle lunch horrors continue . . . Desperate students are still taking to Twitter to reveal the horrors of school lunch under First Lady Michelle Obama’s rules, including empty chicken nuggets and complaints that meals taste like “prison food.” Washington Free Beacon

With the federal government involved, pray for our children's health.

D-Day, Obama Style

Cartoon of the Day

Obama Schedule || Tuesday, January 20, 2015

ISIS trickling into Afghanistan . . . The Islamic State terror group may be making inroads in Afghanistan just weeks after the U.S. ended its 13-year combat mission, with a former Guantanamo Bay detainee said to be involved in the recruiting effort. Fox News

Poll: Terrorism tops economy . . . For the first time in five years, as many Americans cite defending the U.S. against terrorism (76%) as a top policy priority  as say that about strengthening the nation’s economy (75%). Pew Research

Romney praised Gruber's work . . . In a 2006 video posted on YouTube, then-Gov. Mitt Romney of Massachusetts praised Jonathan Gruber for devoting "hours and hours" to help to develop Romneycare--the mandatory health-insurance program that Romney signed into law in that state. CNS News

Jindal warns of "radical Islam" threat . . . In an interview from London on Monday, Louisiana Governor Bobby Jindal (R) defended his earlier remarks about “no-go zones” in the United Kingdom, referencing a UK police chief and “elected officials,” and he also stressed that Sharia law is “completely incompatible” with Western civilization and that we must "hunt down and kill" the forces of "radical Islam." CNS News

Reid ID'd as most vulnerable . . . Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid is probably the most vulnerable Democratic incumbent in this Senate cycle. While we rate the contest as Leans Democratic, the prospect of a possible challenge from popular Gov. Brian Sandoval (R-NV) could seriously endanger Reid, and Reid’s weak approval ratings also make him potentially vulnerable to other, less heralded Republicans. Larry Sabato's Crystal Ball​

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Iran promises "crushing" response to Israel . . . Iran on Monday promised that Hezbollah would deliver “crushing response” to the Israeli attack over the weekend, which killed six Iranian agents, including a top-level commander, and five Hezbollah members. Washington Free Beacon

Ten dead in Muslim anti-Hebdo protests . . . At least 10 people have died in protests and riots around the Islamic world, as demonstrations showed no signs of easing over the “survivor issue” of the French satiric weekly Charlie Hebdo that depicts the Prophet Muhammad on its cover. Washington Times

"American Sniper" ignites culture war . . . The box-office smash "American Sniper" is a hands-down hit with audiences, but it's triggered a culture war in Hollywood — with conservatives battling complaints by some liberals that the movie glorifies war and late Navy SEAL sharpshooter Chris Kyle. Newsmax

Kyle's wife overwhelmed by movie's success . . . Taya Kyle, the wife of former Navy SEAL Sniper Chris Kyle, is overwhelmed by the amount of support she and the Kyle family have received since the release of Clint Eastwood’s biopic, American Sniper, which follows the life of her late husband. Breitbart

New police radars can see inside homes . . . At least 50 U.S. law enforcement agencies have secretly equipped their officers with radar devices that allow them to effectively peer through the walls of houses to see whether anyone is inside, a practice raising new concerns about the extent of government surveillance. USA Today

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Keith Koffler
Editor
White House Dossier