Obama’s State of the Union speech: Confrontation wrapped in Kumbaya - Chris Cillizza

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/the-fix/post/obamas-state-of-the-union-speech-confrontation-wrapped-in-kumbaya/2012/01/24/gIQA3rR2OQ_blog.html

Given the success of his rhetorical pivot, it’s no surprise that President Obama largely stuck to it during the State of the Union. While this was not the same speech he would give to a group of Democratic activists and donors, it was also far from the ideals-only addresses that he delivered with regularity on the campaign trail in 2008.
This is Obama version 2.0: Harder, more cynical but perhaps also more effective. This is the Obama that will run for a second term this November — an Obama ready to give at least as good as he gets in the bare-knuckled brawl that is American politics.