President Barack Obama told Americans nervous about terror and a changing economy that they should not fear the future, in a farewell State of the Union address Tuesday that drew sharp contrast with Republicans.
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In his final State of the Union address to Congress, President Barack Obama called on Americans Tuesday to “fix our political system”, in order to align the country toward the “future we want”. We did not, in the words of Lincoln, adhere to the “dogmas of the quiet past”.
The president said he wanted to “go easy on the traditional list of proposals for the year ahead”.
Daniels also feels President Obama was going through the motions with his speech.
Obama’s line about politicians insulting Muslims, for example, was a clear jab at Trump, who has called for barring Muslims from immigrating to the U.S.
“All the talk of America’s economic decline is political hot air”, he said. “Surveys show our standing around the world is higher than when I was elected to this office, and when it comes to every important worldwide issue, people of the world do not look to Beijing or Moscow to lead-they call us”, Obama said. “That may work as a TV sound bite, but it doesn’t pass muster on the world’s stage”, he said pointedly. “That’s not telling it like it is”. Reportedly eyeing the Republics in the chamber, he added: “debating our military, most of America’s business leaders, the majority of the American people, nearly the entire scientific community, and 200 nations around the world who agree it’s a problem and intend to solve it”. He cast the dystopic vision painted by Trump as not unique but rather simply the latest in a long line of fear peddlers at a time of national anxiety. “That is why, tomorrow, I am introducing legislation to block funding for President Obama’s executive orders on gun control announced last week and for the remainder of his time in office”.
That’s the America I know. “That’s the country we love”.
Trump had his own rebuttal over Twitter, remarking: “The #SOTU speech is really boring, slow, lethargic – very hard to watch!” Obama appealing to the country’s better angels.
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Vermont Senator Bernie Sanders, who has been narrowing the gap in the Democratic race with former Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, shared Obama’s sentiment. His name will never appear on the ballot again. The development, which Obama did not mention, prompted criticism from Republicans about Obama’s hard-fought Iran nuclear deal, which the president extolled, arguing that “the world has avoided another war”. Count me as skeptical.
