Finally we have a president who knows how to tie his tie!

Note the handsomely made pleat under the half-windsor knot. That is how it should be done, people! A tie is not meant to be smooth-fronted. The pleat, like the lapel button-hole that is there to allow the jacket to be closed up to the neck, is a holdover from when a tie was more like a cravat. Mind you, it helps to have a tie of this quality that will accept the knot correctly. Kudos on the pattern, too.

The trick is, as you tighten the knot, to pull the long end to one side, which will form the pleat correctly. Also to be noted is the perfect fit of the shirt collar and the exact amount of cuff showing. Plus the exquisitely tailored suit in a handsome dark blue.

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Over at NRO, John Hood revives an argument we haven’t heard for awhile:

A competent presidential campaign, one that could really pose a challenge to a sitting president with a massive war chest and organization, would never settle for the media spin that Mitt Romney had a 15 percent federal tax burden over the past two years.

A competent campaign, and candidate, would explain that Romney’s real federal tax rate on his investment income was more than 40 percent (being conservative, after deductions and such), since the revenue stream was subject to both a personal tax rate and the corporate tax rate.

Shall we? Let’s.

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And the spring is coming:

Let’s be honest: At this point in our life, we’ve seen dozens of State of the Union addresses. And we remember nothing about them. Except the Adderall part, where nobody can fucking sit still.

Up! Down! Up! Down! It’s like an interpretive dance of Republican primary polling.

But we love them nonetheless, which is why we welcome you to our SOTU Open Thread/Jazzercise Workout. Remember, the more you sweat, the more you can drink.

Our guest columnist is Ralph Shortey, Republican state senator from the Great State of Oklahoma.

STATE OF OKLAHOMA

2nd Session of the 53rd Legislature (2012)

SENATE BILL 1418

By: Shortey

AS INTRODUCED

An Act relating to food; prohibiting the manufacture or sale of food or products which use aborted human fetuses; providing for codification; and providing an effective date.

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Our guest columnist is Tim Thomas, who plays a professional sport beloved by Canadians, and who refused to visit the White House with his team yesterday to celebrate winning a trophy named for Lord Stanley of Preston, the 1892 Governor General of Canada.

I believe the Federal government has grown out of control, threatening the Rights, Liberties, and Property of the People.

This is being done at the Executive, Legislative, and Judicial level. This is in direct opposition to the Constitution and the Founding Fathers vision for the Federal government.

Because I believe this, today I exercised my right as a Free Citizen, and did not visit the White House. This was not about politics or party, as in my opinion both parties are responsible for the situation we are in as a country. This was about a choice I had to make as an INDIVIDUAL.

This is the only public statement I will be making on this topic.

Tim Thomas [Facebook]

On a day for team, Thomas left them shorthanded [Boston Globe]

“Newt Gingrich says he won’t ‘allow’ the moderators of future GOP presidential debates to keep the crowd out of it.” [The Hill] You’re welcome!