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U.S. NEWSWednesday 13 January 2016
Obama address warns against election year cynicism
Continued from Front ics who have challenged Obama’s address. Under- Seeking to shape his own gotten worse instead of
his economic and national scoring how the heated legacy, Obama ticked better,” he conceded.
“It’s easier to be cynical, security stewardship, call- campaign rhetoric about through a retrospective of “There’s no doubt a presi-
to accept that change ing it all “political hot air.” immigrants and minorities his domestic and foreign dent with the gifts of Lin-
isn’t possible and politics is In a swipe at some Repub- from Republican front-run- policy actions in office, in- coln or Roosevelt might
hopeless,” Obama said in lican presidential candi- ner Donald Trump in par- cluding helping lead the have better bridged the
dates, he warned against ticular has unnerved some economy back from the divide, and I guarantee I’ll
keep trying to be better so
President Barack Obama gives his the State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, long as I hold this office.”
Tuesday, Jan. 12, 2016. Mindful of the scant pros-
pect for major legislative
(AP Photo/Susan Walsh) action in an election year,
Obama avoided the tra-
his final State of the Union “voices urging us to fall party leaders, Haley called brink of depression, tak- ditional litany of policy
address. “But if we give up back into tribes, to scape- on Americans to resist the ing aggressive action on proposals. He did reiterate
now, then we forsake a goat fellow citizens who temptation “to follow the climate change and end- his call for working with Re-
better future.” don’t look like us or pray siren call of the angriest ing a Cold War freeze with publicans on criminal jus-
At the heart of Obama’s like us or vote like we do voices.” Cuba. Yet he was frank tice reform and finalizing
address to both chambers or share the same back- “No one who is willing to about one of his biggest an Asia-Pacific trade pact,
of Congress and a prime- ground.” work hard, abide by our regrets: failing to ease the and he also vowed to keep
time television audience His words were unexpect- laws and love our tradi- persistently deep divisions pushing for action on politi-
was an implicit call to keep edly echoed by South Car- tions should ever feel un- between Democrats and cally fraught issues such as
Democrats in the White olina Gov. Nikki Haley, who welcome,” Haley said in Republicans. curbing gun violence and
House for a third straight was selected to give the excerpts released ahead “The rancor and suspicion fixing the nation’s frac-
term. He struck back at crit- Republican response to of her remarks. between the parties has tured immigration laws.
Yet Obama was eager to
look beyond his own presi-
dency, casting the actions
he’s taken as a spring-
board for future econom-
ic progress and national
security. His optimism was
meant to draw a contrast
with what the White House
sees as doom-and-gloom
scenarios peddled by the
Republicans.
“The United States of Amer-
ica is the most powerful
nation on earth. Period,”
he declared. “It’s not even
close.”
The State of the Union ad-
dress, a kind of annual
progress report from the
president, represents one
of Obama’s last opportuni-
ties to claim a large televi-
sion audience as president.
However, the address has
suffered a major drop-off in
viewers in recent years.q
