Fresh from a State of the Union address in which he called for a renewed focus on innovation, domestic employment, and the nascent economic recovery, President Obama is on the last leg of a three-day, five-state tour to promote his message of populism and sound notes of his reelection campaign. Obama visited Cedar Rapids, Iowa and Phoenix, Ariz. on Wednesday, Las Vegas, Nev. and Colorado’s Buckley Air Force Base on Thursday, and today visited the University of Michigan in Ann Arbor.

Politico reports on the positive reception Obama’s visit received in local media in Iowa and Arizona, an advantage any incumbent president gains during election-year trips. Obama’s media reception was marred somewhat by a tarmac confrontation between the President and Arizona’s Republican governor, Jan Brewer. The White House later clarified that Obama had disagreed with Brewer’s characterization of a White House meeting between the two in Brewer’s 2011 book, “Scorpions for Breakfast,” but Brewer said she was “taken aback” by the President’s comments.

ROBBIE OTTLEY

One of the top issues on Capitol Hill in the past week has been Keystone XL, a proposed pipeline pumping crude oil from Canada to Texas that would join the already existing Keystone pipeline, which has its terminus in Oklahoma. Environmental groups oppose the pipeline, as the oil sands from which the pipeline derives its crude are considered to be a dirty source of energy. Last week, the President rejected the pipeline, saying the deadline Congress had established in November gave the State Department too little time to review the pipeline’s path. House Speaker John Boehner, whose spokesman said that Obama’s decision would “destroy tens of thousands of American jobs,” now faces the challenge of passing a bill forcing the administration to reconsider. Politico reports that Boehner’s team must decide between forcing the issue alongside an extension of the payroll tax cut, similar to the previous deadline, or as a part of a larger energy and infrastructure bill.

Finally, GOP presidential frontrunners Mitt Romney and Newt Gingrich joined with Rick Santorum and Ron Paul in a debate in Jacksonville ahead of next Tuesday’s Florida primary. The debate’s Florida setting was evident, with issues regarding immigration, Latin American foreign policy, and space exploration dominating the first hour of the debate. Early in the debate, Romney and Gingrich squabbled over immigration, both defending their proposed immigration policies as enforcing the law while encouraging legal immigration.

We’ll have a more detailed preview of Tuesday’s primary next week.