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Your take on Obama’s address to Congress

President Obama delivered his first major speech before a joint session of Congress, walking a fine line between frankness about the state of the U.S. economy and optimism about its recovery. Did you find his speech reassuring? Do you think the U.S. will emerge “stronger than before”? Share your thoughts below.

Withdraw or stand their ground?

Tom Daschle doesn’t want to be a distraction. Nancy Killefer doesn’t want to be a distraction. Timothy Geithner has already been a distraction.

What these three high-profile nominees to President Obama’s White House have in common, besides not wanting to be distractions, is that they apparently don’t know how to do their taxes. Daschle, the former senator and Obama’s choice for health secretary, and Killefer, a former assistant Treasury secretary and nominee to oversee the government’s budget, have withdrawn their nominations because of tax indiscretions. Geithner has been confirmed but his path to the top of Treasury was also marred by tax troubles that some fear may come back to haunt him.