Politics –
State of the Union: Obama’s Last Word
“The State of the Union is strong.” So said President Barack Obama in his 7th and final State of the Union address to Congress Tuesday night, during a speech that was filled with substance, nostalgia and even a bit of proving a point.
Politics
The president began his remarks by promising to avoid the usual laundry list of policy proposals. He also promised to keep his remarks short. He kept both promises.
Among his remarks of substance was a call for an end to gerrymandering — a practice where politicians game their political districts so as to ensure one party’s advantage over the other. He also called for a reduction in secret campaign contributions, making voting easier, as well as convincing more Americans to get involved in politics.
However, after campaigning for president on promises of hope and change, and vowing to transform the gridlock of Washington, Mr. Obama acknowledged he had fallen short of that goal.
“It’s one of the few regrets of my presidency, that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better,” Mr. Obama said, adding that “a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide.”
In response to the divisive tone and rhetoric that has engulfed America as of late, Mr. Obama did not mince words.
“As frustration grows, there will be voices urging us to fall back into tribes, to scapegoat fellow citizens who don’t look like us, or pray like us, or vote like we do, or share the same background,” the president said. “We can’t afford to go down that path.”
He then very specifically singled out leading Republican presidential candidate Donald Trump, making it clear that Americans must resist calls to stigmatize Muslims.
“Will we respond to the changes of our time with fear, turning inward as a nation, and turning against each other as a people?” the president asked. “Or will we face the future with confidence in who we are, what we stand for, and the incredible things we can do together?”
He also made reference to Sen. Ted Cruz, another Republican presidential contender who has criticized Mr. Obama’s foreign policy for not “carpet bombing” the Islamic State.
“The world will look to us to help solve these problems,” Mr. Obama said regarding global challenges, “and our answer needs to be more than tough talk or calls to carpet bomb civilians.”
He added: “We need to reject any politics that targets people because of race or religion. This isn’t a matter of political correctness. It’s a matter of understanding what makes us strong. The world respects us not just for our arsenal; it respects us for our diversity and our openness and the way we respect every faith.”
Politics
In a very strong effort to make a very strong point, President Obama invited 23 people to watch his final State of the Union address. The guest list purposely included Muslims and Syrian refugees, two groups Republicans have gone to great lengths to shun. The idea was propelled by congressional members Keith Ellison of Minnesota and Debbie Wasserman Schultz of Florida, who encouraged their colleagues to “stand against hate” by inviting Muslim-Americans to the speech.
Additional guests included a DREAMer (an undocumented immigrant brought to the U.S. as a child), a gay rights activist, as well as several veterans and active-duty service members, including the Air Force staff sergeant who helped tackle a gunman on a train bound for Paris last summer. A 24th chair was left empty to symbolize the victims of gun violence in America.
Also, two members of the Council on American-Islamic Relations were in attendance, upsetting at least one Republican presidential candidate.
“Let’s not be giving them access to the ability to further carry on what they call a civilization jihad, and to change us from a Judeo-Christian foundation to a Muslim foundation,” Ben Carson said. We have got to be smarter than that.”
Perhaps the most surprising and controversial guest in attendance was Kim Davis, the Kentucky clerk who went to jail rather than grant marriage licenses to same-sex couples.
Originally, the identity of the person who invited Davis was a secret. However, it was later revealed that Republican congressman Jim Jordan of Ohio was Davis’ mystery date.
“Kim Davis used our ticket. Our staff heard from the Family Research Council that Ms. Davis and her family hoped to attend the State of the Union address and so we offered a ticket,” Jordan said.
WATCH THE STATE OF THE UNION ADDRESS IN UNDER 2 MINUTES:
.
Some are calling it his "best speech" since his victory speech, in Chicago's Grant Park after winning the Presidency in 2008. I thought it was both, soaring and sobering. He spoke Truth to the American people and gave it his all. November will tell Us…and the entire world….what kind of nation *We The People* truly want going forward(?) Re: Obama's Presidency I voted for Obama…Twice. But I was often frustrated by his inability to accept the fact, early in the first term of his presidency, that no matter how sincere his message and outreach to the people who Hate him…they were NEVER going to accept him first-and-foremost because of the COLOR of his skin. Equally frustrating for me, is his tendency, at times, to be a little too cool for his own good, particularly when a more vigorous effort is clearly needed in addressing the socio-economic and cultural angst of… Read more »