"Can you give a State of the Union address before you're president? Barack Obama talked about race in America for 45 minutes in a nearly 5,000-word speech. That was longer than some of the annual presidential addresses, and though, yes, those speeches tend to cover more topics, this one felt like it addressed the actual state of our union more than those dreary January list readings presidents are obligated to perform." - John Dickerson (courtesy multiplexer) OBAMA'S "A MORE PERFECT UNION" SPEECH: * The full text * "Obama didn't take the easy route." Howard Kurtz covers the media reaction , which has been... impressive. * Analysis from the Post . * Editorials from the NYTimes and the LATimes . * Reactions from Ana Marie Cox and Jay Carney .