Today in realism

It's kind of entertaining that pointing out the obvious -- you can be a national security threat without being an existential threat -- is the big takeaway point for (ahem) some networks:

President Obama, with an eye on cementing his legacy and countering the narrative on the Republican campaign trail, used his final State of the Union address Tuesday night to staunchly defend his economic record – and, in stark language, downplay the threat from the Islamic State.

“Over-the-top claims that this is World War III just play into their hands,” the president said, arguing that ISIS fighters “do not threaten our national existence.”