President Obama on Tuesday night offered a glowing portrait of a nation that’s beaten back economic hard times and, after years of war, is making strides in the fight against terrorism.
Obama, in his second-to-last State of the Union address, outlined an economic agenda aimed at providing relief to a still-struggling middle class and, noting the protests over the death of Eric Garner, called for reforms to the criminal justice system.
“We are 15 years into this new century,” Obama told the packed House of Representatives chamber. “Fifteen years that dawned with terror touching our shores; that unfolded with a new generation fighting two long and costly wars; that saw a vicious recession spread across our nation and the world. It has been, and still is, a hard time for many.
“But tonight, we turn the page,” he continued — adding a few moments later that “the shadow of crisis has passed.” (READ THE FULL TRANSCRIPT OF THE STATE OF THE UNION)
Obama heralded the nation’s progress in recovering from the recession, noting the robust stock market, shrinking deficits and the lowest rate of health care inflation in 50 years.
“That’s good news, people,” a smiling Obama said in an aside from his prepared remarks.
With all the good news, however, Obama said too many middle-class families have yet to feel the benefits of the nation’s recovery.
“It’s now up to us to choose who we want to be over the next 15 years, and for decades to come,” Obama continued. “Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well? Or will we commit ourselves to an economy that generates rising incomes and chances for everyone who makes the effort?”
Obama also got in a zinger against the GOP — after the strongest applause Obama got from Republicans came when he noted that he had “no more campaigns to run.”
The President quickly ad-libbed: “I know because I won both of them.”
Obama called for a series of tax hikes targeting the wealthy and big banks while also proposing tax credits and other initiatives intended to provide relief to middle-class families.
“That’s what middle-class economics is — the idea that this country does best when everyone gets their fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules,” Obama said, adding a call for Congress to hike the federal minimum wage.
Obama challenged Congress to move beyond the partisan gridlock that has paralyzed Washington in recent years and take action on issues like climate change, immigration reform and reforming the criminal justice system. He also threatened vetoes if Republicans try to roll back Obamacare, Wall Street reform or immigration measures.
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In a reference to the police-involved deaths of Michael Brown in Missouri and Garner on Staten Island, the President said: “We may have different takes on the events of Ferguson and New York.
“But surely we can understand a father who fears his son can’t walk home without being harassed. Surely we can understand the wife who won’t rest until the police officer she married walks through the front door at the end of his shift.”
Obama also offered a staunch defense of his administration’s effort to combat Ebola, contain Russian expansion and bring the fight to Islamic extremists.
“In Iraq and Syria, American leadership — including our military power — is stopping ISIL’s advance,” the President said, using another name for the terrorist group Islamic State, or ISIS.
“This effort will take time,” he said. “It will require focus. But we will succeed. And tonight, I call on this Congress to show the world that we are united in this mission by passing a resolution to authorize the use of force against ISIL.”
Coming on the heels of the North Korean computer hack of Sony, Obama said his administration is working to develop better intelligence on cyber threats and he urged Congress to take action to bolster the nation’s computer defenses.
“No foreign nation, no hacker, should be able to shut down our networks, steal our trade secrets, or invade the privacy of American families, especially our kids,” Obama said.
“If we don’t act, we’ll leave our nation and our economy vulnerable,” he said. “If we do, we can continue to protect the technologies that have unleashed untold opportunities for people around the globe.”
Obama’s speech, his sixth State of the Union address since taking office in 2009, was delivered amid an upswing in both the nation’s economy and the President’s poll numbers.
National unemployment fell to 5.6% in December as the nation added nearly 3 million jobs in 2014 — the most since 1999. The economy grew by 5% during the third quarter of last year, its fastest rate in more than a decade.
An NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll released Tuesday showed Obama with a 46% job approval rating, his best showing since October 2013. The poll also showed that 49% of Americans approve of the President’s handling of the economy.
Still, Obama faces a Congress that, following last year’s elections, is solidly in Republican hands and — with a presidential election less than two years away — unlikely to give the President many victories. Obama further strained his relations with the GOP in recent months by, among other things, taking unilateral action on immigration policy and normalizing relations with Cuba.
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