Amazon to stream Obama’s final State of the Union speech

In 2008, Obama said he wanted the facility closed, saying the center, which opened in 2002, had outlived its usefulness and was too costly.

The Republicans are “seeming to run down America”, McDonough said on NBC.

A number of Supreme Court justices usually show up, as well as members of the president’s cabinet. “What we have left to do is bigger than any one policy initiative or new bill in Congress. This is about who we are, where we’re headed, and what kind of country we want to be”.

The White House said on Monday that it had joined Snapchat, marking the Obama administration’s latest move to reach a younger generation of Americans through social media. The very first TV broadcast of the annual speech was by Harry Truman in 1947, the first live webcast was delivered by George W. Bush in 2002, and Barack Obama was the first to introduce an enhanced live stream of the speech – which included text, graphs and images, alongside footage – in 2011.

As always, the White House’s YouTube channel is a reliable way to watch Obama’s addresses. Aides say Obama wants to present an upbeat, optimistic view of America after seven years that will contrast with the gloomy portrayals offered by Republican candidates. Jeff Merkley – lead Senate sponsor of the Equality Act – invited Obergefell to attend the State of the Union address as his guest.

“Last year, he spoke to Congress”, said Jennifer Psaki, the White House communications director.

While will Obama likely will not lay out specific legislative proposals for Congress, he is expected to call on lawmakers to take care of unfinished business before he leaves office, including approving the Trans-Pacific Partnership trade agreement and take steps to close the US military prison in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. There have been hints that he may even discuss a possible 2016 visit to Cuba to meet with President Raul Castro.

Despite Obama’s zeal for closing Gitmo, Congressional Republicans have balked and blocked the president’s plans, although Obama has reduced the population from a high of 241 to the current 107 detainees.

Along with the wide array of discord in the nation’s political environment, Obama also faces approval/disapproval ratings that are tilted slightly toward negative.

Who will deliver the Republican response? House Speaker Paul Ryan said it was the first of several “big ideas” that Congress would embrace this year in advance of November elections, to encourage voters to elect a Republican president. Viewers can also watch the President’s speech and CNN’s coverage on CNNgo, which is available at CNN.com/go on your desktop, smartphone, iPad, AppleTV and Roku devices.