The moments Obama’s supporters will most remember long after he’s left office have been aspirational: His “red states” and “blue states” speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention; his singing of “Amazing Grace” after the church shooting in Charleston, South Carolina.
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President Barack Obama made a brief appearance on Facebook on Tuesday as he finalized the text of his last State of the Union address.
Obama acknowledged that many Americans feel frightened and excluded from a political and economic system they view as rigged against their interests, even as he offered an implicit rebuke of Republicans who are playing on those insecurities in the presidential race, New York Times reported. “It’s just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of the world. It makes it harder to achieve our goals”, said the president, as members of the audience in Congress errupted in applause.
Asked whether he could imagine Trump as president giving his own State of the Union address, Obama said: “I can imagine it in a Saturday Night skit”, referring to the late-night Saturday Night Live television comedy show.
The billionaire businessman, citing national security concerns, has called for a temporary ban on Muslims entering the United States and a wall on the U.S. border with Mexico to stop the flow of illegal immigrants, ideas the White House strongly opposes. Among those speech-watchers interviewed tonight, 42 percent consider themselves Democrats, 24 percent Republicans, a more Democratic tilt than Americans as a whole.
“This kind of stuff appears to work for their politics, but is not based on any reality”, McDonough said.
“Masses of fighters on the back of pickup trucks and twisted souls plotting in apartments or garages, they pose an enormous danger to civilians and must be stopped”.
Obama said, “one of the few regrets” of his presidency was that after he ran on a message of unity and healing, American politics had become more divided and resentful on his watch.
“His policies aren’t working”.
Republicans immediately added their two cents on income inequality, with House Speaker Paul Ryan issuing a release titled “For Too Many, The American Dream Is Slipping”.
When Trump did chime in on the speech, he was unimpressed, calling it “really boring, slow, lethargic”. There are two presidents, President James A. Garfield and President William Henry Harrison who did not give a State of the Union address at all. She used her speech to warn against the allure of the “siren call of the angriest voices”.
“Let’s talk about the future, and four big questions that we as a country face”, he said.
The anti-Muslim rhetoric, he said, “betrays who we are as a country”.
Another Twitter user said: ‘Obama has aged 20 years in 8.
He noted areas where compromise was possible with Republicans in congress including criminal justice reform, trade and poverty reduction.
As for political disagreement, Obama conceded, “The rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better”.
To help “fix” USA politics, Obama pressed for an end to “gerrymandering”, the practice of drawing voting districts in ways that gives advantage to a particular party; reducing the influence of “dark money” or political spending in which funding sources do not have to be disclosed; and making voting easier.
In his final State of the Union address, Obama attempted to reset the tone of the national security debate, which has grown more extreme and fearful as the battle to succeed him heats up.
– How do we make technology work for us, and not against us – especially when it comes to solving urgent challenges like climate change?
As Biden smiled from his seat behind the president, Obama said he would put the vice president in charge of “mission control” for the effort.
Obama repeated past calls for legislative action on his domestic initiatives that have fallen short, including raising the minimum wage, amending the nation’s immigration laws and enacting stricter gun restrictions.
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“I have no doubt that if we act with proper focus, we can protect our borders, our sovereignty and our citizens, all while remaining true to America’s noblest legacies”, she said.
