Washington in 60 Seconds: Michele Bachmann Taking On Barack Obama

Good morning, Capitolists! After going 0-for-3 in state-wide races in the last three months, failing to get health care done, and watching unemployment go up, not down, since passing the stimulus bill, the stakes could not be higher tonight for President Obama when he tries to rally the nation in the State of the Union address.

But the real drama will be on the House floor, where members may or may not be suppressing the urge to yell, "You Lie!"

We'll watch for that while you read up on what's making news on a busy day in Washington.

* TiVo or Take-Out Alert: The State of the Union starts at 9 EST tonight, to be followed by the Republican response from Virginia Gov. Bob McDonnell. Thanks to Louisiana's Gov. Bobby Jindal, the bar for McDonnell's response has been lowered to the point that McDonnell need only wear a blazer that fits to be seen as a raging success. Luckily for him, his economy-friendly "Bob's for Jobs" message will fit well tonight, too.

* Double Dose of Double Agents. Despite rumors of its demise, Democrats are still working on several paths to pass health care reform. The latest gambit includes a team of moderate Senate Democrats reaching out to Maine's two Republican senators to get their votes for a smaller bill. Sen. Susan Collins confirmed she's been approached and told The Hill, "I think that it would be possible for the White House to come together with the Republican leaders to draft a scaled-down bill and I hope that might happen."

* Declaration of Health Care Independence. One group of Republicans that Democrats don't need to reach out to is Rep. Michele Bachmann and her merry band of conservative lawmakers, who will unveil their "Declaration of Health Care Independence" on Capitol Hill today, a document meant to show the way to reform health care for freedom-loving patriots. A pack of wild dogs could not keep the Capitolist away from this event, so we'll tell you how it goes.

* Speaking of Wild Dogs, Treasury Secretary Tim Geithner testifies before the House Oversight Committee about the AIG bailout today, and he can expect a whole lot of barking from Democrats and Republicans livid over the bonuses handed out to AIG executives after the self-induced catastrophe. Since taxpayers enjoy an 80 percent stake in the still-teetering insurance giant, tune into C-SPAN 3 at 10 a.m. to see how your company is holding up.

* Nebraska Needs You. Impeachment proceedings continue today against Thomas Porteous, a federal judge from Louisiana accused of high crimes and misdemeanors for his conduct on the bench, including taking kickbacks. The House Judiciary Committee will vote on four articles of impeachment against the judge today, for "so utterly lacking in honesty and integrity that he is guilty of high crimes and misdemeanors and is unfit to hold the office of federal judge and should be removed from his office." Notice this says nothing about serving in the Senate.

* Two Americas . . . Two Fathers, It's All the Same. Hotline OnCall has the mind-boggling outtakes from Andrew Young's tell-all account of his days working for John Edwards, including the revelation that, "Young, after the birth, produced a requested shirt for Rielle decorated by his kids with the logo "I am the granddaughter of a millworker." CQ's Taegan Goddard has more HERE.