From the NYTimes:
In the wake of their electoral drubbing in November, Republicans sought an image reboot at President Obama’s State of the Union address, a new face that would be both more positive and less strident, youthful and multicultural but also quietly constructive and respectful…
Mr. Nugent, the gun-rights brawler, sat stone-faced high up in the House spectators’ gallery as the president pressed an agenda that went far beyond gun control. Invited to watch as the guest of another firebrand, Steve Stockman, a Republican representative from Texas, his crossed arms and stern visage seemed to capture the conflict still lurking within the Republican Party as its leaders look to expand their appeal.
There were no shouts of “you lie!” Tuesday night, no overt moments of disrespect beyond the usual partisan responses to policy. But in a House chamber filled conspicuously with the victims of gun violence and family members still grieving for lost loved ones, Mr. Nugent seemed like a provocation, a saber-toothed tiger invited to a garden party…
The lasting image of Mr. Rubio’s address may not have been his youthful face and stately backdrop but an odd lurch off camera mid-speech for a quick drink of water. He recovered from the glitch, but it marred an otherwise smooth performance.
But before Mr. Rubio spoke from the well-appointed Capitol cloisters of House Speaker John A. Boehner, the speaker grabbed attention when he told reporters that he would like “a little foreplay first” from the president before embracing a path to citizenship for undocumented workers in an immigration bill….