You know politicians are serious when they move from campaigning to governing. Something like that may be happening on the Republican campaign trail -- but, unfortunately, not at the Obama White House.

Campaigning clearly carried the day for Newt Gingrich in South Carolina, where he beat Mitt Romney by a 40 percent to 28 percent margin. It's generally agreed that Gingrich clinched the race when he reacted angrily to questions by Fox News's Juan Williams and CNN's John King.

Both times Gingrich got standing ovations. But not for how he'd govern. His platform can be summed up in a bumper sticker a Washington lawyer printed to buck up George H.W. Bush's hapless 1992 campaign: "Annoy the media -- vote for Bush." It was fun but didn't win many votes.

One of the big things about the State of the Union address is talking about which Cabinet Secretary has been sent to an undisclosed location in case the Capitol Building goes up in a cloud of neutrons and there is no one left to run the government.

Last night that honor went to the Secretary of Agriculture, Tom Vilsack who was a former Governor of Iowa.

According to the Presidential Succession Act of 1947, after the Vice President, Speaker of the House, and President Pro Tempore of the Senate, the order of succession to the Presidency is:

We heard a lot on Tuesday night from President Obama about the wealthy paying their “fair share” in his State of the Union speech.  (Well, you heard it a lot; I read the speech and then commenced to have a life on Tuesday night.)  Obama made half a dozen references to fairness in relation to taxes in the address, including taking a shot at Congress:  But in return, we need to change our tax code so that people like me, and an awful lot of members of Congress, pay our fair share of taxes. Just like with charity, perhaps fairness should start at home: From postal workers to congressional staffers, federal workers failed to pay billions in taxes in 2010.

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How long's it gonna be, folks, before we start seeing billboards all over, Florida, other upcoming primary states with Rick Perry on 'em saying, "Miss me yet?"  How long's that gonna be?  You remember when they had the George Bush billboards, "Miss me yet?" a couple months into the regime?  Anyway, great to have you here, folks, already Thursday, fastest week in the media.  Goes even faster when one of the days you spend 12 hours, 10 hours, whatever it was, in an airplane, like I did?  Great to have you here, as always, it really is a thrill and a delight.  Telephone number if you want to be on the program today, 800-282-2882, and the e-mail address, ElRushbo@eibnet.com.

Boy, this Newt stuff.  Did you know any of this Newt stuff, Snerdley?  Let's go through the list.