Where to watch the State of the Union address

Looking for some drinking game tips? Barack Obama’s favorite words in his 2011 State of the Union speech included “jobs," “government,” “Americans” and “people.” (Toni L. Sandys/The Washington Post)Who needs a legitimate pro football team? Washington has its own Super Bowl-like tradition every January: Watching the State of the Union in bars and restaurants all over the city, with big screens, full sound and even the occasional drinking game.

The bars on Capitol Hill will be prime territory. Capitol Lounge and Lounge 201 are among the hotspots showing the speech on all their flat-screen TVs. (Lounge 201’s viewing party boasts $4 “SOTU-tinis.”)

The party that’s most likely to force you to call in sick on Wednesday is the seventh annual throwdown at Ventnor Sports Cafe in Adams Morgan. Pick any word -- “housing” or “unemployment” or “pipeline” -- and every time the president says it, you get a $1 Jello shot. (Pro tip: Don’t select “America” or “jobs” unless you’ve got a strong liver; each was used more than 20 times in 2011.)

Things should be a little more intellectual -- and entertaining -- at the 14th Street Busboys and Poets. After a viewing party hosted by Obama for America, attendees are invited to offer their own “State of the Union” in rhyme during the weekly open mike poetry night, which begins at 9 p.m.

The other three Busboys and Poets locations are also hosting viewings: Both Shirlington and Hyattsville locations feature post-speech panel discussions -- Shirlington’s is hosted by the Arlington Democrats. A coalition of groups, including AllHipHop.com, the League of Young Voters and the Ustream streaming video site, are sponsoring a viewing party called BarackTalk at the City Vista Busboys, with an interactive online panel discussion on youngvoterlive.com.

If you’re going to any of the Busboys events, take the pre-speech 2012 election poll beforehand; results will be announed at each party.

Meridian Pint will show the speech with full volume in its basement bar. DC Brau beers and Jameson whiskey will be $2 off from 8 p.m. to close.

Want to combine dancing and politics? Local salseros and salseras are turning the weekly Latin dance party at Fiesta Lounge into a State of the Union event. Stop by to watch the speech, then get grooving to a DJ. There is a $5 cover charge at the door, and 75 percent of the fees collected will be donated to the Obama 2012 campaign.

The Network for Progress’s annual State of the Union Progress party at Local 16, hosted by a coalition of groups including Generation Obama and Northern Virginia for Obama, will feature a raffle, State of the Union bingo and a DJ. Admission is free, but RSVPs are suggested.

Obama 2012 volunteers are hosting a free “Yes We Will” viewing party at the Grand Hyatt’s Cure Bar and Bistro.

View the original article here

Florida Republican debate: Where and when to watch

Debates matter. That was one of the major takeaways from the South Carolina primary, which Newt Gingrich won handily on Saturday.

Republican presidential candidate former House Speaker Newt Gingrich reacts to a question at the start of the Republican presidential candidate debate at the North Charleston Coliseum in Charleston, S.C., Thursday, Jan. 19, 2012. (David Goldman - Associated Press)

With the primary shaping up to be more competitive than it seemed just a few weeks ago and the winner-take-all Florida primary just eight days away, Monday and Thursday night’s debates will matter quite a lot.

Here are the details you will need to tune into Monday night’s Republican Candidates Debate sponsored by NBC News, National Journal, and the Tampa Bay Times.

The debate at the University of South Florida in Tampa, will air on NBC at 9 p.m. ET in the place of “Rock Center” and will be livestreaming on NBCNews.com, NationalJournal.com TampaBay.com.

As usual, The Fix will host a live chat throughout the debate starting at 8:30 p.m. and Felicia Sonmez will live-blog all the events starting around 8:30 p.m. in Election 2012.

Former House speaker Newt Gingrich (Ga.), U.S. Rep. Ron Paul of Texas, former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney and former U.S. senator Rick Santorum (Pa.).

Rock Center host Brian Williams will host his second debate of the 2012 cycle. National Journal’s Beth Reinhard and the Tampa Bay Times’s Adam Smith will also question the participants.

@NBCPolitics is using #FLDebate on Twitter.

Read more on PostPolitics.com

Like PostPolitics on Facebook | Follow @PostPolitics on Twitter

Presidential debate fatigue: How many is too many?

Florida, Florida, Florida: A Sunshine state political primer

View the original article here

South Carolina primary: 5 counties to watch

Voters are voting!

All eyes in the political world are on South Carolina where the state that has picked the eventual Republican presidential nominee in every election since 1980 will make its choice today.

The shadow of Republican presidential candidate Rep. Ron Paul, R-Texas, is cast against the South Carolina state flag as he waits to be introduced at a campaign rally in an airplane hanger Friday, Jan. 20, 2012, in North Charleston, S.C. (AP Photo/David Goldman)The polls close in South Carolina at 7 p.m. eastern time — bless you early closing time! — and we will be here live-chatting all through the night.

But, we also thought it made sense to provide a cheat sheet for Fixistas as they watch the returns flow in. (Here’s a good place to monitor South Carolina returns.)

Below are five counties to keep an eye on tonight. They’ll be leading indicators of where the primary is headed.

(And, as a special bonus, at the end of this post is a detailed county-by-county look at the 2008 South Carolina presidential primary, complete with projections of how Mitt Romney needs to perform relative to Newt Gingrich — and vice versa — to win the state today.)

1. Beaufort County

This was Romney’s best county – by far – in 2008, when he took 26 percent of the vote in this southeastern coastal area. It’s also the most moderate-friendly county, having given nearly three-quarters of the vote to the trio of Romney, John McCain and former New York mayor Rudy Giuliani.

The ninth-biggest county in the 2008 results, it has grown even more since then as northern retirees continue to move south. Romney should do very well here, and if he doesn’t, that’s a bad sign.

One caveat, though, is that Rick Santorum’s brother is from here, and Romney hasn’t visited much (see our visit tracker here), so the former Pennsylvania senator could steal votes and play spoiler.

2008 results: McCain 42, Romney 26, Mike Huckabee 16, Fred Thompson 8, Giuliani 6, Ron Paul 2

2.Greenville County

By far the state’s biggest county, it accounts for more than one in eight primary voters, so of course it’s important. But it’s also noteworthy because it was so close in 2008 – the closest among the state’s 10 most populous counties, with Huckabee beating McCain by three points.

If Romney can somehow win here, that would be a very good sign and a big help in the raw vote count as well. Gingrich robably needs a win here.

2008 results: Huckabee 29, McCain 26, Thompson 21, Romney 17, Paul 5, Giuliani 2

3. Horry County

Located in the far eastern reaches of the Palmetto State, Horry County is the home of beach-loving transplants from the Northeast and Midwest. As such, it is just as fiscally conservative but far less socially conservative than areas in the Upstate area — Greenville/Spartanburg, etc.

This has to be Romney territory — and strongly so — if he wants to win.

2008 results: McCain 33, Huckabee 28, Romney 19, Thompson 14, Giuliani 3, Paul 3

4. Lexington County

The second biggest county — by population — in the state also happens to be the best bellwether for statewide results.

In 2010, Gov. Nikki Haley, a native of this county, won it with 53 percent in a four-way Republican primary; she won the county by 11,000 votes, a major chunk of her 15,000-vote margin statewide.

The county is suburban — people who work in Columbia live here — and has seen tons of new residents move in over the past decade. Who wins it is a good indicator of who will win the state. The results here in 2008 track pretty closely to the statewide results.

2008 results: McCain 33, Huckabee 29, Romney 17, Thompson 16, Paul 3, Giuliani 2

5. York County

While Beaufort was the kindest to moderate candidates, York was most unkind. This suburban Charlotte county — the eighth-biggest in the 2008 primary — gave the trio of more moderate candidates just 37 percent of the vote and handed Huckabee a 12-point win. If Romney can be somewhat competitive here, he’s going to have a good night.

2008 Results: Huckabee 36, McCain 24, Thompson 23, Romney 11, Paul 4, Giuliani 2

View the original article here