Connecticut Adventures At the State of the Union Address

WASHINGTON--For Connecticut lawmakers, President Obama's State of the Union speech was a political mixer both in style and in substance.

Rep. Chris Murphy made a new Republican friend. Sen. Richard Blumenthal exchanged tidbits about the commute to Washington with one of his new Senate colleagues from New England. And Rep. Joseph Courtney exchanged jokes, gossip, and even some serious policy talk, with a Republican counterpart on the House Agriculture Committee.

As for the president's speech, Connecticut lawmakers said there were plenty of attractive policy proposals, and a few less-than-desirable ones, packed into the hour-plus address. But everyone found something to like, particularly the call for more comity and the emphasis on revving up the economy.

"This was a speech that included a lot of initiatives that were not just playing to the Democratic members," said Courtney, D-2nd District. "It was pretty careful and finely tuned to the new reality that's there."

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