Tommy Christopher, Asylum's White House correspondent, explains the story that will rock the media this week.

Going into last Wednesday's State of the Union address, things were not looking so great for President Barack H. Obama. He and his party were taking heat from every corner of the political spectrum, with liberals angry at their inability to capitalize on a 60-40 majority in the Senate and conservatives feeling their oats after ending that majority in Massachusetts' special Senate election.

On the eve of the SOTU, to make matters worse, the president was getting crushed by both sides (even Keith Olbermann) about reports that he would announce a spending freeze that pretty much everyone derided as a gimmick to appease Republicans.

The president started the week defending a first-and-goal at his own 1-yard line. By the weekend, he had picked up a Republican fumble and run it back for a touchdown.

Here's how he did it.

State of the Union
The State of the Union speech was a good start. It was very well-received, but by fairly typical margins. One of the biggest stories to emerge was Justice Samuel Alito's reaction to the president's critique of the Supreme Court's recent decision to allow direct corporate funding of campaign ads. Apparently, a Supreme Court Justice mouthing the words "not true" is the equivalent of a normal person standing up during a pregnant pause and shouting "Would you please pass the jelly?"

Alito's defenders point to the fact that presidents don't usually take shots at the Supreme Court during the SOTU, but this was a net positive for Obama. The Court's decision is highly unpopular with most Americans.

The Republicans also took some heat for delivering their rebuttal in the form of a "Me, too! SOTU" that took place on the site of Confederate President Jefferson Davis's second inaugural address.

Even with all of that, the president only got a one-point bump in his approval rating. Call it third and goal at Obama's 2.

House Republican Issues Conference
Then came Friday's visit to the House Republicans Issues Conference in Baltimore. On the president's schedule, it looked like an unassuming chore that would yield all the surprise of an episode of "Three's Company."

I was at the White House on Friday, working on some other stories, when they started piping the event over the loudspeakers. A general buzz started building in the briefing room, and I noticed that the president was taking questions from the Republicans and the whole thing was on camera.

The thing you have to understand is that these weren't just any Republicans, they were House Republicans. The House of Representatives, regardless of party, is like that crazy girl you could barely keep up with before you settled down and got married to the Senate. It wasn't just the lion's den, it was the lion's den, living room and kitchen.

For over an hour, the president fielded the very worst the Republicans could muster, and he kicked ass. By the time it was over, he had taken their best talking points and left them shredded on the floor. While it didn't necessarily convert his detractors, the president's performance left no doubt as to who was and was not serious about solving the country's problems.

He's Back!
As a result, the political buzz this week is sure to be about the Obama comeback. By the end of the week, there should be some better news for the president on his approval ratings. He's set to take questions in a YouTube interview today, and has a town hall meeting in Nashua, N.H., tomorrow, both of which will give him ample opportunity to burnish that roll-up-your-sleeves-or-shut-up message that he kicked off last week.

Here's the video of the president's Q & A from Friday (transcript here). I suggest you watch the whole thing, as you're not likely to see something like this again anytime soon. It took the Republicans about five minutes to realize they had made a horrible mistake in letting this thing be televised.