Two Democratic members of San Diego’s Congressional delegation praised President Obama’s final State of the Union address Tuesday for appealing to the American spirit and countering “defeatist rhetoric” that has dominated politics.
Advertisement
Warning that “instability will continue for decades” in many parts of the world including Afghanistan and Pakistan, Obama said both al-Qaeda and ISIS pose a direct threat to the USA and America’s foreign policy has to be focused on the threat from ISIL and Al Qaida. Still, the fact that he admitted his failure to do this, during the State of the Union address, can be considered a very honorable move. One of the few regrets of his presidency, he added, was “that the rancour and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better”.
The President spoke about the war on terror during his State of the Union Address and so did the Republican chosen to give the party’s response.
In his last State of the Union address, Mr. Obama said despite the growth in manufacturing and employment, the nature of the global economy allowed workers less leverage for a raise and encouraged companies to “put quarterly earnings over long-term returns”. “We can’t afford to go down that path”. And he strongly disputed candidates like Donald Trump who point toward illegal immigrants as the source of America’s economic woes.
“That’s something he’s expressed to us he wants to do more of”, she said. “Or will we face the future with confidence in who we are, what we stand for, and the incredible things we can do together?”
Americans shouldn’t be seduced, Obama argued, by those “peddling fiction” about America’s economy in decline or American military strength waning.
“The world will look to us to help solve these problems, and our answer needs to be more than tough talk or calls to carpet bomb civilians”, he said. “That may work as a TV sound bite, but it doesn’t pass muster on the world stage”. Nor do overblown claims that the fight against the Islamic State is “World War III”. Behind Obama sat a new House speaker, Paul Ryan of Wisconsin, who last week celebrated sending legislation to Obama’s desk for the first time uprooting the health legislation.
Advertisement
“The president’s record has often fallen far short of his soaring words”, South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley said in the Republican rebuttal. In comments which also seemed to take aim at Mr Trump, she said: “During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow teh siren call of the angriest voices”. “?they call us”, Obama said. We must resist that temptation.
