Noah’s right that this backhand from the SOTU will fade long before O’s lies about the state of counterterrorism do, but as the trolliest line from an exceptionally trollish speech by a master of the form, it deserves its own thread. I don’t think the media’s high-fiving over it primarily as a distraction; if NBC, of all networks, is calling out O on his foreign policy propaganda, it’s hard to argue that the press is covering for him. Democrats aren’t even covering for him:

BOOM –> MENENDEZ: "The more I hear this administration and it's quotes, the more it sounds like talking points straight from Tehran."

— Elliott Schwartz (@elliosch) January 21, 2015

The reason the media’s zeroed in on the “I won twice” zinger is, yes, because they enjoy watching the star quarterback from their hometown team spike the ball but mainly because it’s a rare colorful moment from the relentlessly dismal, programmatic State of the Union slog. The fact that O fired this ad lib off literally seconds after calling for more comity in politics feels like a goof on the scripted insincerity of the event. He and his team probably spent weeks reworking that passage about comity to get it just right and all it took for Obama to blow it up was some abortive hooting from the Republican gallery that wounded his pride. I hope lefties turn this into a Vine that gets 10 million views; the more popular it is, the more likely it is that the SOTU will gradually transform into a zingerfest by O’s successors, which would at least make the speech entertaining, or that it’ll be dropped entirely. Either outcome is better than what we have now.

Good point from Charles Cooke about this:

Not sure why the Left likes the “I don’t have to run any more” line anyway. There’s a selfishness there. He’s fine; his party isn’t.

— Charles C. W. Cooke (@charlescwcooke) January 21, 2015

He squandered Democratic majorities in both chambers of Congress and watched the GOP annihilate his party at the state level last year, but he won twice so let’s high five. That’s why they call him The One, I guess — he’s the only one with any real power left. If you’re a liberal watching last night’s speech and weighing the losing streak you’ve been on, why not relish a little callback to the glory days of 2012?

Oh, he also neglected to acknowledge Mitch McConnell last night as the new Senate majority leader. Trolls gotta troll.