President Obama admits failure in State of the Union address

The White House had promised that Obama’s final State of the Union speech would be “nontraditional”, forsaking the usual focus on the year just past and the year just ahead, charting instead a longer course taking the nation further into the future.

And like the president, the Democratic Senator is downplaying the threat ISIS poses on this country’s future.

I am not one to complain, as many Obama supporters do, that the nation’s first black president has had a rougher road than any previous president.

He also spoke of how politics in Washington and around the country has gotten so rancorous.

“We as Republicans need to own that truth”. The president said “a better politics” doesn’t mean agreeing on everything, but it does require basic bonds of trust. “Our public life withers when only the most extreme voices get attention”.

History, political science and the experience of the Obama administration all suggest that the lack of civility and cooperation isn’t the problem, just a symptom of a country with deeply diverging views of taxation, welfare, social mores, immigration and race. But they do not threaten our national existence,”Obama said”.

He took multiple veiled swipes at Donald Trump and his “Make America Great Again” campaign slogan.

But some of his toughest words were for Republican statements over the rise of the Islamic State group. “It’s a matter of understanding what makes us strong”.

I told you earlier all the talk of America’s economic decline is political hot air. While it is indeed a threat to the United States and its people the president sought to discourage “over the top claims that this is World III”, since such claims “just play into their hands”. “That may work as a TV sound bite, but it doesn’t pass muster on the world stage”, the president urged. Marco Rubio (R-Fla.), among others. Obama touted the Iran Nuclear Deal as success but didn’t mention captured US sailors due to be released Wednesday.

But he faces the reality of a looming election that renders him a lame duck and is brimming with distrust of Washington and ruling elites dominated by the populism of GOP front-runner Donald Trump.

While today’s congressional Democrats will boast about their ability to work with Republicans to get things done, Mann and Ornstein point out, Republicans who work across the aisle risk condemnation and even primary election challenges from their fellow Republicans. But Obama made overtures to Ryan and specifically applauded the new speaker for his interest in helping the poor.

Over 30,000 Americans die every year in gun-related violence, a tearful Obama had announced in his 5 January speech. But what was really unexpected was the Republican response, which actually agreed with Obama on this-and then took a few jabs at its party’s own frontrunner.

To help “fix” USA politics, Obama pressed for an end to “gerrymandering”, the practice of drawing voting districts in ways that gives advantage to a particular party; reducing the influence of “dark money” or political spending in which funding sources do not have to be disclosed; and making voting easier.

“During anxious times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices”.

While Tuesday’s speech was light on the lists of proposals typical in such addresses, Obama had some, even confronting a Congress largely hostile to his agenda. He has had trouble winding down the two major wars he inherited, has been unable to close Guantanamo Bay, and was commander in chief when the Islamic State crashed into the massive political upheaval in the Middle East. He has been president during a seemingly endless and always heartbreaking string of mass shootings.

He noted areas where compromise was possible with Republicans in Congress including criminal justice reform, trade and poverty reduction.

“You want to consolidate our leadership and credibility in the hemisphere?” He said he would put Vice-President Joe Biden in charge of mission control, in light of his 2015 “moonshot” that America could solve cancer.