Obama's Health Care Speech to Congress  —  Following is the prepared text of President Obama's speech to Congress on the need to overhaul health care in the United States, as released by the White House.  —  Madame Speaker, Vice President Biden, Members of Congress, and the American people:

Washington Sketch: Republicans Behaving Badly at Obama Speech  —  As President Obama addressed a joint session of Congress on Wednesday night, the nation's rapidly deteriorating discourse hit yet another low.  —  It happened at 8:40 pm, just after the president vowed to lawmakers …

Video Flashback: Dems Shout And Boo At Bush During 2005 SOTU [Video]  —  The scrupulous FogCityJohn, member of the reality-based Daily Kos community, currently has a top post intriguingly titled “If Joe Wilson Were A Democrat.”  He muses thusly: … Remember the time when some deep-feeling member …

Obama heckled by GOP during speech to Congress  —  WASHINGTON — The nastiness of August reached from the nation's town halls into the U.S. Capitol on Wednesday as President Barack Obama tried to move his health care plan forward.  —  South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson shouted …

CNN Poll: Double-digit post-speech jump for Obama plan  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — Two out of three Americans who watched President Barack Obama's health care reform speech Wednesday night favor his health care plans — a 14-point gain among speech-watchers, according to a CNN/Opinion Research …

Wilson apologizes: ‘I let my emotions get the best of me’  —  WASHINGTON (CNN) — GOP Rep. Joe Wilson of South Carolina issued a statement Wednesday night apologizing for his outburst during President Obama's speech to Congress:

The House Bill Does Cover Illegals  —  During Barack Obama's speech tonight, Obama said it was untrue that “the reforms I am proposing” cover illegal aliens.  Someone in the audience, reportedly South Carolina Republican Rep. Joe Wilson, yelled out “liar.”  —  Now this isn't the British parliament, so I don't agree with shouting out.

Video: GOP congressman yells “liar” at Obama; Update: Wilson apologizes  —  The culprit was South Carolina rep Joe Wilson, who felt moved to act when The One told what was, in fact, a lie.  Although certainly not his biggest of the night: Where this jackass gets off lecturing Americans …

BREAKING: The News in the Speech  —  Looks like there's some news in the speech after all.  Quite a bit.  —  On the policy front, President Obama tonight endorses, clearly and unambiguously, a requirement that everybody obtain insurance—that is, an individual mandate.  He has not done that before, not this explicitly.

A voice from the floor on illegal immigrants: ‘Lie’  —  One of the most persistent conservative concerns about health care legislation is that it will provide health care to illegal immigrants — and the heated claim spilled onto the floor of President Obama's address to a joint session …

REMARKS BY THE PRESIDENT TO A JOINT SESSION OF CONGRESS ON HEALTH CARE  —  Washington, D.C.  —  THE PRESIDENT: Madam Speaker, Vice President Biden, members of Congress, and the American people:  —  When I spoke here last winter, this nation was facing the worst economic crisis since the Great Depression.

Obama's Speech: Did It Help Him?  —  From a policy standpoint, there was nothing new in President Obama's speech to a joint session of Congress tonight.  It can only be assessed, therefore, in political terms.  I read the transcript rather than watching it, but the speech struck me as reasonably effective.