Last night, millions of Americans tuned in as President Obama addressed the nation for the 5th time for the State of the Union. Men and women of Congress were present, along with other special guests who sat in the First Lady’s Box Seats.
The POTUS got right to business with his speech. He started the speech off talking about teachers, entrepreneurs, auto workers, farmers, doctors, and soldiers, and how they’ve all made a difference in our country. He also mentioned that in the past 4 years, 8 million jobs have been created, and we have the lowest unemployment rate in over 5 years.
The State of the Union, or #SOTU as it was tracked on social media, touched on numerous issues important to the American people, as the President declared 2014 the Year of Action. A few of the popular topics included women’s equality, raising the minimum wage to $10.10, and of course the Affordable Healthcare Act.
President Obama also touched on things like economic growth and jobs, clean energy, immigration reform, foreign policy, retirement savings (introducing a new initiative called the MyRA), and making high quality education from pre-school to college more affordable.
Although there was often a clear divide between Democrats and Republicans as to what was the most important focus of the night, everyone came together for one guest of the First Lady. US Army Ranger Sergeant First Class Cory Remsburg was in attendance, along with his father and caretaker Craig. Remsburg has been deployed 10 times, and was injured by a roadside bomb in Afghanistan on his most recent tour, leaving him in a coma for three months, partially paralyzed and brain-damaged. As the President told how Remsburg relearned how to speak and walk, there was hardly a dry eye in the room. He was given a standing ovation that lasted for several minutes, and acknowledged the crowd with a wave and a thumbs up.
BMWK – If you missed it, you can read the full text or watch the video of the 2014 State of the Union below.
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