President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union address was a far cry from his predecessors’ oratory.
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Despite some global successes, such as killing Osama bin Laden and extricating most United States troops from Iraq and Afghanistan, Americans are most critical of Obama’s handling of events overseas, especially the terrorist threats from the Daesh which he insisted, while posing “an enormous danger” to individuals, “do not threaten our national existence”. Vice President Joe Biden applauds, House Speaker Paul Ryan of Wis.is at right. Carson said they’re the wrong target; it’s “the evil government that’s putting all these regulations on us”. “It was sadly less a state of the union and more a state of denial”.
In his final State of the Union Address, President Obama largely avoided requests for Congress to approve specific programs, instead focusing on broad themes about America’s future.
Even a handful of innovative digital projects out of the U.S. Digital Service, the General Services Administration’s 18F and the Presidential Innovation Fellows failed to get a shout out.
Although Obama did not mention any candidates by name, he dedicated a lengthy portion of his speech to what many interpreted as a rebuke of the Republican primary – particularly its tenor on immigration and refugees.
Obama addressed a Congress now run by emboldened GOP majorities already planning their agenda under a potential Republican successor, starting with repealing the president’s health care law. And he also declared: “The United States of America is the most powerful nation on Earth”. He encouraged us to us to lay aside whatever divides us and find ways to move forward on common ground, knowing that doing so benefits all of us, including those who depend on our leadership around the world.
“Tonight President Obama appealed to the very best in the American people”. Much of the rhetoric was familiar – did you know Republicans think Obama’s presidency is a big failure? – though the governor talked a bit about being the daughter of Indian immigrants, who faced tough times growing up in the rural South.
South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley delivered the Republican response, saying that while Obama is full of “soaring rhetoric”, his record has often fallen short. As he walked toward the exit after his hour-long speech, he turned back to the crowded House chamber and said, “Let me take one more look at this thing”.
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“Our Constitution begins with those three simple words, words we’ve come to recognize mean all the people, not just some; words that insist we rise and fall together”.
