On Tuesday evening, President Barack Obama addressed the nation for his 6th State of the Union address. The President gave a preview of some of the exciting things he would be mentioning tonight in a Facebook video a few weeks back, and was ready to report on some of our country’s progress and future goals.
The POTUS opened up his speech with clear indicators that “the state of the union is strong”:
- Jobs are growing at the fastest pace since 1999
- The combat mission in Afghanistan is over
- “We are as free from the grip of foreign oil as we have been in over 30 years.”
- American families are saving around $750 at gas pumps
- 11 million new jobs have been created
"If you truly believe you could work full-time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, go try it." —President Obama #RaiseTheWage
— Barack Obama (@BarackObama) January 21, 2015
One of the biggest topics, which was mentioned in the preview, was the President’s proposal for free community college for students who keep their grades up and graduate on time. He also praised the First Lady and Dr. Jill Biden on their work with getting almost 700,000 military spouses and veterans jobs.
Topics touched on during the State of the Union included the importance of infrastructure, STEM programs, terrorism, and climate change. The President also mentioned several words that were a first for an address like this:
2015 #SOTU First To Say:
-“ethnicity”
-“lesbian” / “bisexual” / “transgender”
-“Instagram”https://t.co/Oy3kKmT8PL— BuzzFeed (@BuzzFeed) January 21, 2015
President Obama appeared relaxed and confident during the SOTU, even holding his own when some clapped at the mention of him no longer campaigning. He swiftly rebutted:
I have no more campaigns to run. I know 'cause I won both of them! ~ Mr. President @BarackObama #BOOM #dropsmic #SOTUchat #SOTUSocial
— Moms 'N Charge® (@MomsNCharge) January 21, 2015
Some points garnered applause and standing ovations from both parties. Other issues were not received equally by the Republican party. Many who were live-tweeting the event, were keeping a tally of these issues that did not seem to excite the GOP:
Look at the people NOT voting for minimum wage raises pic.twitter.com/UMbRF50iw4
— CJ Fogler (@cjzero) January 21, 2015
The speech ended with the President calling for optimism and equality.
I know how tempting such cynicism may be. But I still think the cynics are wrong. I still believe that we are one people. I still believe that together, we can do great things, even when the odds are long.
BMWK – If you missed it, you can read the transcript or watch the video of the 2015 State of the Union below.
[youtube id=”cse5cCGuHmE”]