Pres. Obama Barely Mentions Immigration in Final State of the Union Speech

“For my final address to this chamber, I don’t want to talk just about the next year”, he said.

There was less tension in this room compared to previous years, with the President making jokes about those in the room anxious to get back on the road campaigning to take his place next year.

Obama would say that one of his “few regrets” is that he will leave office with the rancor in Washington worse than when he arrived.

Our local representatives issued statements on their opinions of the address. Particularly, 91 percent of Republicans want the GOP-controlled Congress to have more power over the country’s path, while 81 percent of Democrats say the same of Obama.

The President said protecting the American people and going after terrorist networks is his number one priority. Jimmy Carter tried to pre-empt Ronald Reagan by sending his final State of the Union to Congress right before Inauguration Day, and President Obama is nothing if not a less-careful version of Jimmy Carter.

Hailing an epoch of “extraordinary change” laden with risk and opportunity, Obama called for a new “moonshot” to cure cancer, a shift away from dirty energy to power the world’s biggest economy and for a thaw in the last remnants of the Cold War by ending the embargo on Cuba.

Despite tradition, Obama made a number of policy proposals: In case you were wondering whether Barack Obama intends to take it easy in his a year ago in office, you can dispense of that fear right now. “That may work as a TV sound bite, but it doesn’t pass muster on the world stage”, Obama said.

He paid a tribute to America’s former presidents such as Roosevelt and Lincoln when he stated that these predecessors would have done a better job in bridging the sharp divide. “No nation dares to attack us or our allies because they know that’s the path to ruin”, he said. Responding to the speech, the billionaire said it was “boring” and “non-substantive”.

Several Republicans criticized Obama after his address for not spending more time addressing national security, especially the Islamic State.

And South Carolina Governor, Nikki Haley, said in the party’s official response his record “had fallen short of his soaring words”. We’ve made progress. But we need to make more. Americans have a choice to make in November, he said, and he spelled out the case for his side.

HORSLEY: Haley, who’s the daughter of immigrants from India, warned against wide-open borders, but she also called out Trump’s tough anti-immigrant rhetoric. It demonstrated why Biden has been able to do what Obama couldn’t, playing an instrumental role in negotiating legislative deals with Congress to avert shutdowns and fund the government.