The speech represents the president’s strongest words on climate during a State of the Union address and comes exactly one month after more than 190 nations agreed in Paris to a historic deal for limiting global warming to 2 degrees Celsius and to “pursue efforts” to limit warming to 1.5 degrees. He declared the United States “the most powerful nation on Earth. That may work as a TV sound bite, but it doesn’t pass muster on the world stage”.
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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. It belonged to Nikki Haley, the Republican governor of SC, a twice-elected 43-year-old who has been mentioned as a potential vice president in 2016. Jeff Flake said that he was concerned the president would neglect to comment on issues the Arizona Republican considers important.
“When politicians insult Muslims, when a mosque is vandalised, or a kid bullied, that doesn’t make us safer”, Mr Obama said.
Sen. John Hoeven (R-N.D.), who said there were no real surprises for him in the speech, said Obama has not done enough to foster innovation in new technologies and that regulations have stymied companies from creating technologies at home.
President Obama criticised the negative tone of the current presidential race, arguing the U.S. has the “strongest, most durable economy in the world”.
“I see it in the soldier who gives nearly everything to save his brothers, the nurse who tends to him ’til he can run a marathon, and the community that lines up to cheer him on”. He praised new House Speaker Paul Ryan, saying the Wisconsin Republican is openly engaging with both parties to reach decisions, such as tackling poverty.
“I’m going to push to change the way we manage our oil and coal resources, so that they better reflect the costs they impose on taxpayers and our planet”, Obama said.
“I think the president could have covered a little more deeply his commitment to comprehensive immigration reform”, Gallego said.
He was the candidate of transformational change – and then the president who led during an era of shutdowns, dysfunction and the erosion of the political center.
Pledged to keep working on that “so long as I hold this office”.
In the days before the State of the Union, Haley had said she was preparing a speech of her own, not a response to Obama.
Specific problem areas identified by Obama: reducing barriers to voting, limiting the influence of money in politics, ending the drawing of congressional districts to benefit politicians’ interests. “We ought to have a security test, not a religious test. That’s who we are”.
“And she certainly has no trouble asking me for campaign contributions”.
“The way that we’re going to get better environmental stewardship is we deploy those technologies here by empowering that investment rather than preventing it with regulatory burden”, Hoeven said.
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Others who have called for changes to the Interior Department’s coal program include the Center for American Progress and the New York University School of Law, which released a report in October that said the department should update its definition of “fair market value”, raise minimum bids and infuse coal market price into royalty calculations. “And that can make a world of difference”.
