The forged Harvey Morgan note....

We've been meaning to post this picture for a while, but events overcame us.

So here it is the note left on a tray of brownies in the House Republican Caucus. The dude abides.

 
We used the detail in a earlier story if you want to check it out.

 Click here to read the story about local pot bust numbers

McDonnell gets top billing on the Daily Show and the Colbert Report....

Gov. Bob McDonnell got a lot of positive reiews on his response to President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech. And apparently the late night folks were loving the GOP response - I believe Colbert even calls him Pretensident McDonnell.

The Daily Show With Jon Stewart	Mon - Thurs 11p / 10c
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And Here's Colbert:

The Colbert Report	Mon - Thurs 11:30pm / 10:30c
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Don't forget to send your State of the Union questions and reactions here ...

Good morning, Virginia politicos. What did you think of President Barack Obama's State of the Union speech and Gov.-Bob McDonnell's Republican response?

We're going to get this chat started around 11 a.m. today and run for about a half hour or more depending on your questions and comments. Remember we'll definitely be talking about the big news of the day, but we'll try to answer every question we get ,so don't be shy.

E-mail us your questions before the chat begins at 11 a.m. on Thursday.

Nice catch by the AP on McDonnell's job creation "estimates"....

Gov. Bob McDonnell says investing $50 million in tourism, movie making and luring new businesses to the state would create 29,300 jobs and $311 million in tax revenue over the next five years.

McDonnell announced the plan to much fanfare from both sides of the aisle, with the chairmen of the two powerful money committee's sponsoring bill for the new governor the plan appears to have some bi-partisan consensus. Add in the fact that House Minority Leader Ward Armstrong is carrying another piece of the plan and it looks like the ideas have a ton of support.

But it's those pesky little details about how economic experts predict job creation and increased tax revenue that tripped up McDonnell's financial gurus. Asked how they reached the numbers, Secretary of Commerce and Trade Jim Cheng said it was a simple formula that every dollar invested produces $6 back.

McDonnell's folks had taken the time to print the gains out on a big "economic impact" poster for everyone in the room to see.

Trouble was, left in the garbage after the press conference was an identical poster. Well almost identical. The landfill-bound prop said 34,300 jobs and $311 million in revenue. So you basically have a 5,000 swing in jobs - but the same amount of tax income.

Kudos to the Associated Press for snatching up the garbage posted and pressing McDonnell's folks on the math. Here's a snippet of the AP report:  

Commerce and Trade Secretary Jim Cheng said the $50 million in incentives would yield a sixfold return on investment.

Less clear, however, were the criteria for estimating the number of new jobs by 2015. Cheng said the formula relied on "established industry and specific examples from our experience." The estimate came from the Virginia Economic Development Partnership, a quasi-governmental body created to foster maximum business and trade opportunities for the state.

"Those are very conservative numbers," he said.

Yet the administration had printed two different job-creation numbers - the 29,300 figure and one at 34,300 - on identical poster-sized boards for the news conference. The board with the lower figure was presented on an easel flanking the governor; the other was discarded and found later Tuesday in the meeting room. Both boards listed the same revenue yield of $311 million.

Cheng said he had rejected the higher number, preferring the more conservative one. "I wouldn't have been happy putting it in there and still calling it a conservative estimate," he said.

Left and Right angry over proposed "spending freeze" - Justice Alito "not true"...

President Barack Obama's call for a partial freeze on domestic spending for three years starting in 2011 is getting a lot of discussion in the aftermath of the State of The Union speech.

As pundits and talking heads break down every last sentence uttered by Obama and his supporters and opponents, the spending freeze is gobbling up a lot of attention and trigger a lot of different opinions. Apparently the folks on the left call the idea insane, while many conservatives have said it's a drop in the bucket ploy.

Hmmm... both sides are unhappy huh?

Here's Howard Kurtz over at the Washington Post looking at the left and right reactions to spending freeze.

Meanwhile, there's been a lot of focus on Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alitomouthing the words "not true" when Obama brought up the recent court decision that would allow for unfettered corporate donations during elections.

Obama asked Congress to work to curb the influence of the ruling and keep corporations and foreign entities from flexing undue muscle in the American political process. But he did so with six justices seated stoically in the front row of the chamber.

Here's a breakdown of Alito from the lip readers at Politico.

And the early returns on Gov. Bob McDonnell's speech appear good, a simple, short, small government message delivered in a warm room. The new Republican governor isn't getting high marks for originality from the pundits like University of Virginia's Larry Sabato who sent out some updates during McDonnell's speech.

Sabato broke down the content and the tone on his twitter account.  

"Live audience for McDonnell talk helped him. Much improvement over last year's Jindal disaster. But nothing new--usual GOP talking points."

"Amusing mixed messages. Calls for bipartisanship intertwined with partisan attacks,like back & forth of family spats or children's quarrels."

Jindal really shattered the glass floor of expectations for people huh?

But Sabato saved his harshest words for the crowd at the Capitol. 

"Reactions from the peanut gallery actually interfere with the absorption of the messages in a speech. Puppets & cheerleaders are tiresome. "

The full text of Bob McDonnell's speech...

Good evening.  I'm Bob McDonnell. Eleven days ago I was honored to be sworn in as the 71^st governor of Virginia.

I'm standing in the historic House Chamber of Virginia's Capitol, a building designed by Virginia's second governor, Thomas Jefferson.

It’s not easy to follow the President of the United States. And my twin 18-year old boys have added to the pressure, by giving me exactly ten minutes to finish before they leave to go watch SportsCenter.

I'm joined by fellow Virginians to share a Republican perspective on how to best address the challenges facing our nation today.

We were encouraged to hear President Obama speak this evening about the need to create jobs.

All Americans should have the opportunity to find and keep meaningful work, and the dignity that comes with it. 

Many of us here, and many of you watching, have family or friends who have lost their jobs.

National and Virginia Democrats laud Obama, hit McDonnell

Here's the statement from the Democratic Party of Virginia and the Democratic National Committee on Obama and McDonnell:

This from Virginia chairman C. Richard Cranwell

"As an American, I was proud tonight to watch President Obama lay out a positive vision for our future and spell out his action plan to create jobs. And, as a Virginian, I was proud to see our Commonwealth represented again tonight, for the third time in the last five State of the Union responses.

"However, I question the wisdom of Governor McDonnell's decision to deliver this intensely political speech tonight, when he hasn't even managed to submit a budget plan in Richmond.

"Bob McDonnell ran as a governor who would provide leadership for Virginia's economy and transportation. But he has punted on transportation and become the first incoming governor in modern Virginia history to fail to put his stamp on the budget.

"Bob McDonnell ran as a bipartisan leader for Virginia. But when Washington Republicans came calling, he delivered a political speech in the people's chamber of the oldest legislature in the Western Hemisphere.

"Instead of engaging in more Washington politics, Bob McDonnell ought to be devoting his time and his talents to telling us what he's going to do to fix Virginia's $4 billion budget shortfall. It's time for Governor McDonnell to get back to taking care of business for the people of Virginia, instead of for the Republicans in Washington.

"Tonight, Bob McDonnell said Americans 'want government leaders to listen and act on the issues most important to them.'

"I couldn't agree more. Now, it's time for Governor McDonnell to start acting."

And from DNC spokesman Brad Woodhouse:

"Governor McDonnell is a quick study. It took less than two full weeks in office for Bob McDonnell to adopt the national Republican Party's partisan rhetoric and to learn and repeat one falsehood after another about the President and his plans for the country. Of course, considering that his speech and its venue were paid for using campaign funds from John Boehner and Mitch McConnell - the two Republicans in this country most responsible for obstructing the President's agenda and making up daily whoppers about it - no one should be surprised that he is repeating their tired and disproved talking points.

"If recent events and a plethora of public polling has proved one thing it's that the American people want cooperation over rancor and they want politicians in Washington to work together to solve problems. While Bob McDonnell offered the obligatory calls for bipartisanship, the charges and mischaracterizations about the President's agenda and plans he made tonight show that Republicans are going to cling in 2010 to the strategy that in 2009 made them the most unpopular political brand in American history - a strategy of division, obstruction and of opposing whatever the President proposes. Bob McDonnell has learned well - but it's not the lesson the American people were hoping for."

Sen. Webb's brief comments on Obama's State of the Union...

“The overriding objective of the President and the Congress over the next year must be to offer the kind of leadership that regains the confidence of the American people in our system, in our deliberative process, and above all in our leaders. With that in mind, my colleagues on both sides of the aisle should work ever harder to approach the issues that face us with less partisan maneuvering and a more genuine commitment to resolving the truly daunting challenges that now face working Americans.”

Sen. Warner's reaction to State of the Union....

NOTE: Senator Warner did not attend tonight's State of the Union Address due to today's funeral of his mother, Marjorie Johnston Warner, 82, who passed-away last Saturday at her Vernon, Connecticut home after a lengthy illness. Senator Warner released the following statement tonight after reviewing a text of the President's prepared remarks:

WASHINGTON -- "I welcome the President's emphasis tonight on rebuilding our economy, and I am pleased that the administration appears ready to act on an initiative we proposed last fall to help responsible small business owners access the credit they need to survive and grow.

"I had hoped for a more robust approach tonight to addressing our long-term budget deficits, and I continue to be extremely disappointed in the Senate's unwillingness this week to support a bipartisan fiscal commission to address needed budget and entitlement reform.

"As our economy continues to demonstrate promising signs of recovery, we must work together to adopt policies that promote innovation and boost America's long-term economic competitiveness. I will continue to work with my colleagues to move forward in a productive and bipartisan way to address these challenges."

Running reaction from Rep. Rob Wittman....

"Tonight’s address by the President to Congress is one of the grandest traditions of our republic. I and many other Americans were looking to our President this evening for his plan to grow the economy, put folks back to work, and aid our small businesses. While I agree with his commitment to accomplish those goals, I remain concerned that there is not a clear path to achieving the economic growth our nation desperately needs.

 

"Additionally, I was pleased to hear the President’s call to freeze federal discretionary spending, and end the mountains of debt our government has built under the leadership of both parties. However, this small step is but the first towards the larger ones we must take: cutting spending, balancing the budget today, paying down our debt, and making a true commitment to righting our fiscal ship.

 

"The President also mentioned transparency when it comes to the earmark process. This is a process which is simply so broken, that last July when I offered a ½% reduction in spending to the Labor-Health and Human Services Appropriations Bill, even that small effort was rejected. True transparency is something Congress could benefit from on all fronts, not just the earmark process. Americans deserve to be an active part of the legislative process, and shutting them out is unacceptable.

 

"On these issues and others, I and my fellow legislators stand ready to aid the President in his efforts to renew the American entrepreneurial spirit, because when all viewpoints are brought to the table, that’s when we succeed as a people and as a country."