Nielsen: 31.3 million watched Obama’s last State of Union

America is still the most powerful nation on earth with a military second to none.

“I thought it was much of the same old lines he’s been giving since he’s been president”, said Ron Black, of Roseburg, who said he didn’t watch the address as closely as past speeches.

A confident Mr Obama sought to cast himself as an optimistic foil to foes who warn the country is going in the wrong direction after his seven years in office.

Obama countered what he calls election-year “hot air” that he says wrongly downplays the economy and suggests America is weaker than its enemies. “Masses of fighters on the back of pickup trucks and twisted souls plotting in apartments or garages pose an enormous danger to civilians and must be stopped”, Obama said.

He said that the post-war worldwide system is now struggling to adjust to the new reality and that the US will help to rebuild this system.

PAKISTAN Obama said America’s foreign policy must be focused on the threat from Daesh and al-Qaeda.

Even with millions still struggling, President Obama says America’s economy is strong; 14 million new jobs, the auto industry’s best year.

“Last month, he worked with this Congress to give scientists at the National Institutes of Health the strongest resources they’ve had in over a decade”. “Or will we face the future with confidence in who we are, what we stand for, and the incredible things we can do together?”

The subtext of President Obama’s final State of the Union address was palpable. “We need to reject any politics that targets people because of race or religion”, he said. “I’d welcome a serious discussion about strategies we can all support, like expanding tax cuts for low-income workers without kids”.

Obama made his case that it’s morning in America, not midnight, as some Republican candidates would have voters believe. “Rather than subsidise the past, we should invest in the future- especially in communities that rely on fossil fuels”, he said. He noted that the USA will always act to protect its allies and will mobilize the world to work with it “on issues of global concern”.

Former Arkansas Gov. Mike Huckabee said in a statement sent to reporters that the president “pats himself on the back” and “glows and grins” about his record while he “refuses to accept an ounce of responsibility” for his failures. Yet relations with China remain strained, terrorism continues to stalk the world, inequality in the United States remains rife and the bitterness and suspicion between the two main political parties is preventing effective policymaking.