Today's State of the SOTU

Two days to the big speech, too much SOTU chatter to keep up with (especially with two huge football games fighting for our attention).  But we did our best to sort through it all and separate the speech wonk wheat from the chaff.  Here are the most interesting nuggets we came across today.

• You don't have to wonder any more about what the prime focus of the speech will be.  Channeling the new media mojo of the 2008 campaign, Team Obama released a video preview through its political arm, Organizing for America.  To no one's surprise, the president will be concentrating on jobs and economic competitiveness, with a heavy dose of innovation promotion and deficit reduction.

• What other issues will make the cut?  The Washington Post has a behind the scenes peak at the furious efforts of a broad array of interest groups to shape those decisions and win the what's in game.  One of the biggest players is one of this administration's biggest targets: the oil industry.

•  Speaking of new media, Team Obama has big plans to take the conversation that the president starts Tuesday night online and use the Web to directly drive its message to voters for the rest of the week.  The White House will be making several top policy advisors available to answer questions Tuesday after after the speech, via Twitter.  On Wednesday, Press Secretary Robert Gibbs will be conducting a live Twitter-view, taking questions from the public.  And on Thursday, the President will be doing a live interview via YouTube.  You can find the full rundown here.

• With all the hubbub surrounding the bipartisan seating push, the Los Angeles Times decided to dig into the origins of partisan segregation.  The result is useful primer to anyone who has been wondering about the hows and whys of this informal tradition now under the public microscope.