Obama Eyes Nuke Cuts in Tough State of the Union

Tomorrow's State of the Union is shaping up to be a much tougher speech than we've seen in previous editions from President Obama, writes Glenn Thrush at Politico, calling it "less a presidential olive branch than a congressional cattle prod." Obama doesn't expect Congress to hammer out compromises on his agenda, and on the heels of his 2012 win, he's ready to come out swinging. Among his chosen topics: a return to nuclear disarmament, the New York Times reports.

Rather than trying to work out a new nuclear treaty in Congress, Obama hopes to set new standards in tandem with Vladimir Putin. The White House aims to cut the deployed US arsenal from some 1,700 nuclear weapons to 1,000, and it has the Joint Chiefs on board. Jobs, the budget, climate change, and gun control will also be on tomorrow night's menu. To limit Capitol Hill squabbles, Obama is turning to a host of potential new executive actions—as well as calling for public support, the AP notes, with help from social media. After the speech, Obama will join a conference call with supporters, and Thursday he plans to chat with them via a Google hangout. (More State of the Union address stories.)