A reflective President Obama said there is a need to “fix our politics” during his final State of the Union address, even as he ignored Iran’s shocking seizure of two Navy boats and 10 US sailors earlier in the day.
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The night was Barack Obama’s last state of the union, his parting shot, at this point he’s playing for the history books. “We have a choice between pushing forward – or undoing all the work we’ve done”. Reporter: That word “Change” which served as mantra for candidate Barack Obama’s election all those years ago, tonight took on a different meaning.
Obama also pointed to renewed relations with Cuba, and working with a global coalition to address climate change. The future we want, all of us want, opportunity and security for our families, a rising standard of living, a sustainable peaceful planet for our kids, all that is within our reach.
His greatest hits include 2009’s “We will rebuild, we will recover, and the United States of America will emerge stronger than before”.
“They do not threaten our national existence”.
Obama said American leadership in the 21st century is not a choice between ignoring the rest of the world except when the USA kills terrorists, or occupying and rebuilding whatever society is unravelling.
Obama acknowledged in an interview that “there have been times during the course of my presidency where I have tightened up”.
Another top priority for advocates, including the ACLU and the NAACP Legal Defense Fund, is making sure the president and his Justice Department ensure that the nation’s 18,000-odd police and law enforcement agencies report data about the number of people killed and injured by police every year.
“For my final address to this chamber, I don’t want to talk just about the next year”.
Obama celebrated “a time of extraordinary change”, adding, “It’s change that can broaden opportunity, or widen inequality”. Marco Rubio of Florida and Vermont U.S. Sen.
Obama worked to convince a skeptical country that it should be more confident in its future, drawing a contrast with what his advisers say is a tone of “doom and gloom” emanating from the Republican candidates seeking to replace him in the White House.
“What I would like is to see the president talk about what is, of course, the number one issue on Americans’ minds today and that is terrorism, national security, the situation in the Middle East and the attacks on America”, said Sen.
The address gave Obama a marquee moment to promote a Democratic narrative that has largely been crowded out of news coverage during a political season in which attention has focused on the more competitive Republican primary and the provocative rhetoric of the front-running GOP candidates, primarily Trump and Cruz.
SC governor Nikki Haley, who provided the Republican response, also suggested that the volume should be turned down on the divisive political rhetoric so people could do some more listening.
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.
Behind Obama sat the new House Speaker Paul Ryan, who reacted dismissively to Obama’s remarks, saying in a statement, “I can’t say I was disappointed by the president’s speech, but that’s because I wasn’t expecting much”. 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”. “We must resist that temptation”, said Haley, the daughter of Indian immigrants.
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But Obama left many of those groups disappointed as his speech was less a traditional State of the Union and more a speech about his vision for the nation.
