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The White House sought to brazen out North Korea's nuclear test on Tuesday, insisting that "this wasn't a surprise," in the words of spokesman Tommy Vietor, and that it would not alter the tough nonproliferation message President Obama had already planned to deliver in his State of the Union address. "[North Koreans] have been saying for some time they intended to do this," Vietor told National Journal on Tuesday. "The president was always planning to say that if they want to join the international community, they need to change their behavior."

Nonetheless, North Korea's third nuclear test since 2006 must be seen as a major embarrassment for Obama, coming on the eve of his biggest speech of the year (after his second Inaugural Address, of course).