State of the Union Address 2016 BBC News Special

Welcome to this BBC News Special, reporting from Washington.

We are just moments away from the final State of the Union address

from President Obama. He'll speak

about the changes taking place in America, tout his achievements

and talk about his to-do list But hanging over the speech will be

the news today that Iran is holding two US vessels and ten sailors

after Tehran says they came into US officials say they will be

returned as early as Wednesday morning but the timing certainly

isn't ideal for the White House. Joining me now and with us

throughout the night is political Thank you for joining us. This is

President Obama's final State of the Union address. What would make it

successful? From what we have heard, he will not go through a laundry

list of his proposals, although he does mention a number of issues that

he would like Congress to address at the beginning. I think he would like

to talk about the vision of America that he sees and that he thinks the

country should embrace. This will be a speech about vision and if he can

get the American public to buy into that, he will be happy. These are

the pictures inside Congress. Members of President Obama's Cabinet

coming in. Members of the Senate and House of Representatives. One member

of Congress is absent. He is the secretary of homeland security. He

is not there because you have to have one member away in order to

protect the country should anything happen during this address. Is chief

of staff there. Members of Congress. Some members go to the

chamber hours in advance to get the on the aisle so that they can treat

the President. -- seats. This man has been very successful this year

with his negotiations with Iran. I'm sure both from the Democrats and the

Republicans. The Defence Secretary and all the members of the Cabinet

coming in. By tradition, one member does not come in, should something

awful happened. This is one of those rare events were you not only have

members of Congress in the chamber on the present as well but the

diplomatic corps, the Joint Chiefs of Staff, the president's Cabinet

and Supreme Court justices. And Michelle Obama. And the vice

president's wife. And they have guests with them. When did that

tradition begin? The first lady having guests there and those guests

representing something about what the president wanted to see? -- say?

I don't quite remember but there was one time with Ronald Reagan... He

had won national hero it there and ever since then, there has been an

explosion of guests. And they are used to make political points. We

have a Mexican immigrant, a refugee from Syria and a man who was

involved in a court case that ultimately resulted in the US

Supreme Court legalising same-sex marriage. There are obviously those

selections, which are supposed to convey obvious messages from the

White House. And we expect to hear more about them during the course of

the evening. There is an empty chair with the first Lady, and they

represent the victims of gun violence in the country. -- with

Michelle Obama. He will be appealing to Democrats as well as Republicans

to do something on gun control. If you look at national polling, there

doesn't seem to be general sentiment in the country for some kind of gun

control. But Congress has not dealt with it. In terms of the themes of

tonight's address, he has already said that he does not want to do a

traditional address with a laundry list. And he will appeal to the

country... What will he be appealing for them to do? Just looking briefly

at some of the preliminary remarks that I have seen, he will call on

the country... Ladies and gentlemen, the president of the United States.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE. President Obama entering the chamber for his

last State of the Union address to the US Congress and millions of

American viewers who will be tuning in to hear what he has to say about

how he intends to finish his time in office and hear more about his

accomplishments during the terms he has held at the White House. As is

tradition, he shakes hands with those people who have been waiting,

some of them for hours, in order to have those price spots right next to

the aisle where the president comes in. -- prized sports.

It will be talking at least in part about the need to change our broken

political system, the polarisation, the scoring of political points, and

asking for Congress and the American people to rise above that. And he

came into office on that promise. Exactly. He was going to be a voice

for change, a voice to unite people, a voice for hope. What we will see

tonight, I'm almost willing to guarantee, is symbolic of that

polarisation. As we have seen over the last few years, Democrats will

stand and applaud the president and Republicans will stay glumly seated

as he talks about his successes. He has been in office seven years now

and his first few speeches, the first few years, they could change

things and create expectations and create opinions. But now after seven

years, I think that everybody has dug into their positions here. It

will be very difficult for him in the final years... Shaking hands

with the Chief Justices of the Supreme Court. Shaking hands with

members of Congress, the chief justice... Top members of the US

military, of course, are also there. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs

of Staff. And as there always is in the State of the Union address,

there will be moments when the president turns to foreign policy as

well as to domestic issues. And this comes at a time when the threat of

terrorism after the shootings in San Bernardino hang heavy in America.

Absolutely. I expect to hear significant discussion by the

President on foreign policy, national security and homeland

security. One year ago, this issue was not of major importance to the

American public, but... Shaking hands with Joe Biden, Paul Ryan...

Michelle Obama watching. And now he turns to the members of Congress.

This is just the first round of applause! We will now have a second

introduction and a second round of applause. President Barack Obama and

his final State of the Union address to the American public and

Congress. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE. Thank you so

All rights. Let us bring this to order, here. Members of Congress, I

have the privilege and distinct honour of presenting to you the

president of the United States. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE. Thank you.

Thank you. Thank you. Thank you so much. Thank you. Thank you very

much. Everyone, please have a seat. Mr Speaker, Mr Vice President,

members of Congress, my fellow Americans, tonight marks the eighth

year that I have come here to report on the state of the union. And for

this final one, I'm going to try and make it a little shorter. CHEERING

AND APPLAUSE. I know that some of you are anxious to get back to

Iowa. I have been there. I will be shaking hands afterwards if you want

some advice. Now, I understand that because it is election season,

expectations for what we will achieve this year are low. But Mr

Speaker, I appreciate the constructive approach that you and

other leaders to be the end of last year to pass a budget to make tax

cuts permanent for working families, so I hope we can work together this

year on some bipartisan priorities like criminal justice reform and

helping... APPLAUSE. And helping people fighting postage and drug

abuse and heroin abuse. -- prescription drug abuse. Who knows?

We might surprise the cynics again. But tonight, I want to go easy on

the traditional list of proposals for the year ahead. Don't worry. I

have got plenty. From helping students learn to write computer

code to personalising medical treatment for patients, and I will

keep pushing on the work that I believe still needs to be done.

Fixing a broken immigration system... CHEERING AND APPLAUSE.

Protecting our children from gun violence. APPLAUSE. Equal pay for

equal work. APPLAUSE. Paid leave. APPLAUSE. Raising the minimum wage.

APPLAUSE. All these things still matter to hard-working families.

They are still the right thing to do. And I will not let up until they

get done. But for my final address to this chamber, I don't want to

just talk about next week. I want to focus on the next five years, the

next ten years and beyond. I want to focus on our future. We live in a

time of extraordinary change, change that is reshaping the way we live,

the way we work, our planet, our place in the world. It has -- it is

change that promises the most amazing medical breakthroughs but

times of hardship for American families. Is change that promises a

bright future for girls in remote villages. But it is also change that

has made it easier for terrorists to communicate. Whether we like it or

not, the pace of this change will only accelerate. America has been

through big changes before. Wars and depression, the influx of new

immigrants, workers fighting for a fair deal, movements to expand civil

rights. Each time there have been those who told us to fear the

future, who claimed we could slam the brakes on change, who promised

to restore past glory if we just got some group or idea that was

threatening America under control. And each time we overcame those

fears. We did not, in the words of Lincoln, adhere to the dogmas of the

quiet past. Instead, we fought a new and acted anew. We may change work

for us, always extending America's promise outward to the next

frontier, to more people. And because we did, because we saw

opportunity where others saw Carol, -- peril, we emerged stronger and

better than before. What was true then can be true now. Our unique

strengths as a nation are optimism and work ethic, our spirit of

discovery, our diversity, our commitment to the rule of law. These

things give us everything we need to ensure prosperity and security for

generations to come. In fact, it is in that spirit that we have made

progress these past seven years. That is how we recovered from the

worst economic crisis in generations.

That is how we reformed our healthcare system and reinvented our

energy sector. That is how we delivered more care

and benefits to our troops coming home and our veterans. APPLAUSE.

That is how we secure the freedom in every state to marry the person we

love. APPLAUSE. But, such progress is not inevitable. It is a result of

choices that we make together and we face such choices right now. Will we

respond to the changes of our time with fear, turning inward as a

nation, turning against each other as people? Or will we face the

future with confidence in who we are, in what we stand for an

incredible things that we can do together? Let us talk about the

future. And there are four the questions that we as a country need

to answer, regardless of who the next president is, who controls the

next Congress. First, how do we give everyone a fair shot at opportunity

and security in this new economy? Second, how do we make technology

work for us and not against us especially when it comes to solving

urgent challenges like climate change? APPLAUSE. Third, had we keep

the world safe without becoming its policeman? Finally how can we make

our politics reflect what is best in us and not what is worst? APPLAUSE.

Let me start with the economy and a basic fact. The United States of

America right now has the strongest, most durable economy in

the world. APPLAUSE. We are in the middle of the longest streak of

private sector job creation in history. APPLAUSE. More than 14

million new jobs, the strongest two years of job growth since the

1990s, an unemployment rate cut in half, our auto industry had its best

year ever. APPLAUSE. That this is part of the manufacturing surge that

is created nearly 900,000 new jobs in the past six years and we have

done this while cutting out deficits by almost three quarters. Anyone

claiming that America's economy is in decline is peddling fiction. Now,

what is true and the reason that a lot of Americans feel anxious is

that the economy has been changing in profound ways. Changes the

started long before the great recession hit and changes that have

not let up. Two-day technology just not replace jobs on the assembly

line, but any job where work can be automated. Companies in a global

economy can relocate anywhere and they face tough competition. As a

result, workers has less leveraged for a wage increase, and more wealth

is concentrated at the very top. All of these trends have squeezed work.

Even when they have had jobs. Even when the economy is growing. It has

made it harder for a hard-working family to pull itself out of

poverty. Are the young people to start their careers. Top of the when

they want to -- harder for. Although these are not unique to America,

they do reflect our belief that everybody who works hard should get

a fair shot. For the past seven years our goal has been a growing

economy that also works better for everybody. We made progress, but we

need to make more. And despite all of the political arguments that we

have had these past few years there are areas where Americans broadly

agree. We agree that real opportunity requires every American

to get the education and training that they need to land a good paying

job. The bipartisan reform of no Child left behind was an important

start and together we have increased early childhood education, lifted

high school graduation rates to new highs, whose graduates in fields

like engineering. In the coming years we should ill on that progress

by providing care for all and providing every student... APPLAUSE

hands on computer science that make them ready on day one. We should

support more great teachers for our kids. And we have to make college

affordable for every American. No hard-working student should be stuck

in the red. We have already reduced student loan payments to 10% of a

borrowers income and that is good. Now we have to cut the cost of

college. APPLAUSE providing two years of community college at no

cost per every responsible student is one of the best ways to do that

and I will keep fighting to get that started this year. It is the right

thing to do. APPLAUSE. But a great education isn't all we need in this

new economy, we also need benefits and protections that provide a basic

measure of security. It is not too much to say that the only people in

America who are going to work this same job in the same place with a

health and retirement acted for 30 years I sitting in this chamber --

are. For everyone else, especially folks in their 40s and 50s, saving

for retirement or bouncing back from job loss has gotten a lot tougher.

Americans understand at some point in their careers in this new Connie,

they need to retrain but they should not lose what they are already

worked so hard in the process. We should strengthen them. APPLAUSE.

And four American short of retirement -- for, it should be just

as Mo as everything is two-day. That is what the affordable care act is

all about. It is about filling the gaps in implement based care so that

when you lose a job, or you go back to school or you strike out and want

that new business, you will still have coverage. Nearly 18 million

people have gained coverage so far and in the process health-care

inflation has slowed and our businesses have created jobs every

single month. I am guessing that we won't agree on healthcare any time

soon. However, a little applause right there. Just a guess. There

should be other ways that produce can work together and prove economic

security. Say I hard-working American loses his job, we should

not make sure that he can get either employment insurance, we should make

sure that the programming courage is him to retrain for a business that

is ready to hire. Is that new job doesn't pay as much, there should be

a system of wage insurance in place so that he can still play his bills

and even if he is going job to job he should be able to save for

retirement and take his savings with him. That is the way we make the new

economy work for everyone. I also know that Speaker Ryan has spoken

about his interest in tackling poverty. Americans are about giving

everyone willing to work a chant, a handout. I would welcome a serious

discussion about strategies that we can all support like Loring tax

brackets for those who don't have children. -- lowering. But there are

some areas where we need to be honest. It has been difficult to

find an agreement over the past seven years. And/or bottle them fall

under the category of what role the government should play in making

sure that the system is not rigged, in favour of the wealthiest and

biggest corporations. And it is an honest disagreement. The American

people have a choice to make. I believe that a thriving private

sextet is the lifeblood of our economy -- sector. Redtape needs to

be cut. There you go! APPLAUSE. But after years now of record

corporate profits, working families don't get more opportunity for

bigger paycheques just by letting big banks, oil or hedge funds make

their own rules and everybodyeverybody's expense.

Middle-class families are not going to feel more secure because we

allowed a tax an -- another tax on collective bargaining to continue.

-- allowed the attacks. Food stands did not cause the recession,

reckless actions on Wall Street did. Immigrants are not the

principal reason wages have not gone out. Those decisions are made in the

boardrooms that often but quarterly earnings over long-term returns. The

point is that I believe that in this new economy, workers and start-ups

and small businesses need more of a voice, not less. The rules should

work for them. And I'm not alone in this. This year, I plan to lift up

the many businesses who have figured out that doing right by the

workers, the customers and the communities ends up being good for

their shareholders. I want to spread those best practices across

America. That is part of a greater future. In fact, it turns out that

many of our best corporate citizens are also our most creative. This

brings me to the second big question we as a country have to answer. How

would we reignite that spirit of innovation to meet our biggest

challenges? 60 years ago, when the Russians beat us into space, we did

not deny Sputnik was it there. We did not argue about the science or

shrink our research and development budget. Wiggle our space programme

almost overnight and 12 years later, we were walking on the moon. -- we

grew our space programme. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE. That spirit of

discovery is in our DNA. America is Thomas Edison and the Wright

Brothers and George Washington Carver. America is Grace Hopper and

Catherine Johnson and Sally Rye. America is every immigrant and

entrepreneurial from Boston to Boston to Silicon Valley racing to

make a better future. -- from Boston to Austin. That is what we are. Over

the past seven years, we have nurtured that spirit. We have

protected and open internet and taken boldly steps to get more

students and low-income Americans online. -- bold new steps. We have

launched online tools to give an order from your -- to give an answer

to your everything they need to start a business in a single day.

But we need to do more. Last month, Joe Biden worked with Congress to

give scientists the strongest resources they have had in over a

decade. APPLAUSE. CHEERING AND APPLAUSE. So tonight, I'm announcing

a new national effort to get it done. And because he has gone to the

mat for all of us on so many issues for so many others over the years,

I'm putting Joe Biden in charge of mission control. For the loved ones

we have all lost, for the families that we can still save, let us make

America the country that cures cancer once and for all. CHEERING

AND APPLAUSE. Medical research is critical. We need the same level of

commitment it comes to developing clean energy sources. APPLAUSE.

Look, if anybody still wants to dispute the signs around climate

change, have at it. You will be lonely because you will be debating

our military, most of our business leaders, the majority of the

American people, almost the entire scientific community, and 200

nations around the world who agree it is a problem and who intend to

solve it. APPLAUSE. But even if, even if the planet was not at stake,

even if 2014 was not the warmest year on record until 2015 turned out

to be even hotter, why would we want to pass up the chance for American

businesses to produce and sell the image of the future? -- the energy

of the future? APPLAUSE. Listen, seven years ago, we made the single

biggest investment in clean energy in our history. Here are the

results. In fields from Iowa to Texas, wind power is now cheaper

than regular conventional power. On rooftops from Arizona to New York,

solar is saving Americans tens of millions of dollars a year on energy

bills. And it employs more Americans than coal in jobs that pay better

than average. We are taking steps to allow homeowners to create and store

their own energy, something that environmentalists and the Tea Party

supporters have teamed up to support. Meanwhile, we have cut our

imports of foreign oil by almost 60% and cut carbon pollution more than

any other country on earth. APPLAUSE.

Gas under $2 per gallon ain't bad either. And now we have got to

accelerate the transition away from old, dirty energy sources. Rather

than subsidise the past, we should invest in the future, especially in

communities that rely on fossil fools. -- fossil fuels. We do them

no favours if we don't show them where the trends are going. That is

why I will better manage our oil and coal resources so they better

reflect the costs on our taxpayers and the planet and that way, we put

money back into those communities and for tens of thousands of

Americans to work in building a 21st century transportation system. None

of this is going to happen overnight. And yes, there are plenty

of entrenched interests who want to protect the status quo. But the jobs

we will create, the money we will save, the planet we will preserve,

that is the kind of future our kids and our grandkids deserved and it is

within our grasp. -- deserved. And climate change is just one of many

areas where our security is linked to the rest of the world. That is

why the third big question that we have to answer together is how we

keep America safe and strong without either isolating ourselves or trying

to nation-building everywhere there is a problem. I told you earlier

that all of the talk of America's economic decline is political hot

air. So is all the rhetoric you hear about our enemy is getting stronger

and America getting weaker. Let me tell you something. The United

States of America is the most powerful nation on earth. Period.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE. Period. Is not even close! It is not even

close! Is not even close! We spend more on our military than the next

eight nations combined. Our troops are the finest fighting force in the

history of the world... CHEERING AND APPLAUSE. No nation attacks us

directly or our allies because they know that is the path to ruin.

Surveys show our standing around the world is higher than when I was

elected to this office and when it comes to every important

international issue. People of the world do not look to Beijing or

Moscow to lead. They call us. APPLAUSE. When we do have a level

head, we don't make the decision. -- when we don't have a level head. As

someone who attends daily security briefings, I know that this is a

dangerous time but that is not primarily because of some looming

superpower out there and it is not because of diminished American

strikes. In today's world, we are threatened less by evil empires and

more by failing states. The Middle East is going through a

transformation that will play out for a generation rooted in conflicts

that dated back millennia. Economic headwinds are blowing in from a

Chinese economy that is in significant transition. Even as the

economy severely contracts, Russia is pouring resources to prop up

Ukraine and Syria, client states that they saw slipping away from

their orbit. And the international system we built after World War Two

is now struggling to keep pace with this new reality. It is up to us,

the United States of America, to help reinvent that system. And to do

that well, that means we have to set priorities. Priority number one is

protecting the American people and going after terrorist networks.

APPLAUSE. Both Al-Qaeda and now ISIL pose a direct threat to our people

because in today's world, even a handful of terrorists who place no

value on human life including their own can do a lot of damage. There is

the internet was in the minds of individuals inside our country. --

they use the internet to poison. Their actions undermine and

stabilise our allies. We have to take them out. But as we focus on

destroying ISIL, over the top claims that this is world War three just

play into their Hans. Fighters on the back of pickup trucks, twisted

souls trotting in the -- plotting in their garages, they pose an enormous

threat to individual citizens but they do not pose a threat to our

existence. That is the story ISIL users to recruit. -- uses. We don't

need to build them up to show that we are serious and we certainly

don't need to push away vital allies in this by echoing the lie that ISIL

is somehow representative of one of the world's largest religions.

APPLAUSE. We need to call them what they are,

killers and fanatics who have to be rooted out, hunted down and

destroyed. APPLAUSE. And that is exactly what we are doing. For more

than one year America has led a coalition of more than 60 countries

to cut off Islamic State finances, and stamp out their vicious

ideology. With nearly 10,000 airstrikes we're taking up their

resources, training camps and we are training and arming forces who are

steadily reclaiming territorial in Iraq and Syria. Authorise the use of

force against ISIL. Take a vote. Take a vote. But the American people

should know that with or without congressional action ISIL will learn

the same lessons as terrorists before them. If you doubt America's

commitment, all mine to see that justice is done, just ask Osama bin

Ladin. Ask the leader of a terrorist cell in Yemen. When you come up to

Americans we go after you and it may take time, but we have long memories

and our reach has no limits. APPLAUSE. Our foreign policy has to

be focused on the threat from ISIL and Al Qaeda but it cannot stop

there. That even with out ISIL, even without Al Qaeda, instability will

continue for decades in many parts of the world. In the Middle East, in

Afghanistan, parts of Pakistan and part essential America, Africa and

Asia. Some of these places may become safe havens the new terrorist

networks. Others will just fall victim to another conflict, or

famine, feeding the next wave of refugees. The world will look to us

to help solve these problems and our add-10 needs to be more than tough

talk or course to carpet bomb civilians -- our talk. It does not

work on the world stage. We cannot try to take over and rebuild every

country that falls into crisis, even if it is done with the best of

intentions. That is not leadership, that is a recipe for quagmire.

Spilling American blood and treasure that will ultimately weaken us. It

is the lesson of Vietnam's, it is the lesson of Iraq and we should

have let it -- learnt it by now. Fortunately, there is a smarter

approach. A patient and discipline strategy the uses every element of

our national power. It says that America will always act, alone if

necessary to protect our people and our allies. On issues of global

concern we will mobilise the world to work with us and make sure that

other countries pool their own weight. That is our approach in

Syria to help that broken society pursue a lasting peace. That is why

we built a global coalition with sanctions and principles of

diplomacy to prevent a nuclear armed Iraq and as we speak they have

rolled back there nuclear programme and we have avoided another war.

That is how we stopped the spread of the -- Ebola in west Africa. Our

military, our doctors, out of element workers, they were the

rollercoaster that the platform. It then allowed other countries to join

in behind us and stamp out that epidemic. Hundreds of thousands,

maybe a couple of million lives were saved. That is how we Forte

transpacific partnership to protect workers in the environment and

advance American leadership in Asia. It cuts 18,000 taxes a product made

in America which will then support more good jobs here in America.

China does not set the rules in the region, we do. If you want to show

our strength in the new century, approved this agreement and give us

the tools to enforce that. It is the right thing to do. APPLAUSE. Let me

give you another example. 50 years of isolating Cuba had failed to

promote democracy, it set us back in Latin America. That is why we

restore diplomatic relations, open the door to travel and commerce,

positioned ourselves to improve the lives of the Cuban people. So if you

want to consolidate our credibility in the hemisphere, recognise that

the Cold War is over and lift the embargo. APPLAUSE. The point is that

American leadership in the 21st century is not a choice between

ignoring the rest of the world, except when we kill terrorists or

occupying in rebuilding what ever society is unravelling, leadership

means a wise application of military power and rallying the world behind

those causes. It means seeing our foreign assistance as part of our

national security, not some in separate or charity. When we leave,

nearly 200 nations to the most ambitious attempt to solve climate

change it protects our kids. Warmly help Ukraine defend its democracy,

or Columbia resolve a decade-long war, that strengthens the

international order that we depend on. When we help African countries

feed their people and care for the sick it is the right thing to do and

it prevents the next pandemic from reaching our shores. Right now we

are on track to end the scourge of HIV/Aids. We have the chance to

accomplish the same thing with malaria, something I will be pushing

this Congress to fund this year. APPLAUSE. That is American strength.

That is American leadership. And that kind of leadership depends on

the power of our example. That is why I will keep working to shut down

the prison at Guantanamo, it is expensive, unnecessary and only

serves as a recruitment roadshow to our enemies -- pamphlet. There is a

better way. And that is why we need to reject any politics. Any politics

that targets people because of race or religion. APPLAUSE. Let me just

say this. This is not a matter of clinical correctness -- political.

This is 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 opening. The Pope Francis told this body from this

very same spot that I'm standing tonight, to imitate the violence of

tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place. When

politicians insult Muslims, whether of broad or our fellow citizens,

when a mosque is vandalised or a kid is called names, that does not make

us safer, that is not telling it like it is. That is just wrong. It

diminishes us in the eyes of the world and makes it harder to achieve

our goals, it betrays who we are as a country. APPLAUSE. Weave the

people -- we. Our Constitution begins with those three simple

words. Words we have come to recognise meaning all of the people,

not just some. Words that insist that we rise and fall together. That

is how we might protect our union. That brings me to the fourth and

most important thing that I want to say tonight. The future that we

want, all of us want, opportunity and security for our families, a

rising standard of living, a sustainable peaceful planet for our

kids, all of that is within our reach. But it will only happen if we

work together. It will only happen if we can have rational and

constructive debates. It will only happen if we fix our politics. A

better politics does not mean we have do agree on everything, it is a

big country with different regions, different interests and that is one

of our strengths too. Our founders distributed power between states and

branches of government and expected us to argue. Just as they did.

Fiercely. Over the size and shape of government, over Congress and

foreign relations, over the meaning of liberty and the imperatives of

security. But democracy does require basic bonds of trust between its

citizens. It does not work, if we think that the people disagree with

us are all motivated by malice. It does not work if we think that our

political opponents are unpatriotic. Or trying to weaken

America. Democracy grinds to a halt without a willingness to compromise

or win even basic facts are contested or when we listen to only

those who agree with. -- with us. Our voice with is when only the most

extreme get attention. Most of all democracy breaks down when the

average person feels their voice does not matter and that the system

is read in favour of the rich or powerful or some special interest.

Too many Americans feel that way right now. It is one of the few

regrets of my presidency that the suspicion between the parties have

gotten worse instead of better. I've no doubt that if the president with

the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt may have breached the divide and I

guarantee I will keep trying to be better as long as I hold this

office. My fellow Americans, this cannot be my task or any

president's alone. There are a whole lot of folks in this chamber, good

people, who would like to see more cooperation, who would like to see a

more elevated debate in Washington. But they feel trapped by the

imperatives of getting elected. By the noise coming out of your place.

I know, you have told me. It is the worst kept secret in Washington. A

lot of you are not enjoying entrapped in that kind of rhetoric.

If we want better politics, and I'm addressing the American people now,

it is not enough just to change a congressman or change a senator or

even change a president. We had to change the system to reflect our

better selves. I think we have to end the practice of drawing out

congressional districts so politicians can pick the voters and

not the other way round. APPLAUSE. Let our bipartisan company do that.

I believe we have got to reduce the influence of money in our politics.

CHEERING AND APPLAUSE. So that a handful of families cannot bankroll

our election. And if our existing approach to campaign finance reform

cannot pass muster in the courts, we have to work together to find a real

solution because this is a problem and most of you don't like raising

money. I know. I have done it. We have got to make it easier to vote,

not harder. We need to modernise it for the way we live now. APPLAUSE.

This is America! We want to make it easier for people to participate.

And over the course of this year, I intend to travel the country to push

for reforms that do just that. But I cannot do these things on my own.

Changes in our political process, not just who gets elected but how

they get elected, that will only happen when the American people

demand it. It depends on you. That is what is meant by a government

of, by and for the people. What I'm suggesting is hard. It is a lot

easier to be cynical, to accept that change is not possible and politics

is hopeless and that the problem is all the people who are elected don't

care. To believe that our voices and our actions don't matter. But if we

give up now, we forsake a better future. Those with money and power

will gain greater control over the decisions that could send a young

soldier to war or now another economic disaster. -- or allow. Or

rollback of equal rights and voting rights that generations of American

water and even died to secure. -- generations of Americans have

fought. And then they will be voices urging us to fall back, to scapegoat

innocent citizens who don't look like us, vote like us, pray like

us, or who don't share the same ground. We cannot afford to go down

that path. It will not deliver the economy we want, it will not produce

the security we want, but most of all, it contradicts everything that

makes us the envy of the world. My fellow Americans, whatever you may

believe, whether you prefer 1-party or no party, whether you supported

my agenda or fought as hard as you could against it, our collective

futures depend on your willingness to uphold your duties as a citizen,

to vote, to speak out, to stand up for others, especially the week,

especially the vulnerable, knowing that each of us is only here because

somebody somewhere stood up for us. APPLAUSE. We need every American to

stay active in our public life and not just during election time so

that our public life reflects the goodness and decency that I see in

the American people every single day. Is -- it is not easy. Our brand

of democracy is hard. But I can promise in a little over one year

from now, when I no longer hold this office, I will be right there with

you as a citizen, inspired by those voices of fairness and division, of

great and good humour and kindness that have helped America travel so

far. -- fairness and vision. Voices that help us see ourselves not first

and foremost as black or white or Asian or Latinos, not as gay or

straight, immigrant or native-born, not Democrat or Republican, but as

Americans faxed bound by not Democrat or Republican, but as

Americans faxed bound -- Americans first bound by a common creed,

voices that Doctor King believed would have the final word, voices of

unarmed truth and unconditional love. And they are out there, those

voices. They don't get a lot of attention. They don't seek a lot of

fanfare. But they are busy doing the work that this country needs doing.

I see them everywhere I travel in this incredible country of ours. I

see you, the American people, and in your daily acts of citizenship, I

see our future unfolding. Are seeded in the work on the assembly line who

clocked extra shifts to keep his company open. -- I see it. And the

boss who pays him higher wages instead of laying him of. I see it

in the dreamer who stays up late at night to finish her signs project

and the teacher who comes in early May be with some of the supplies she

bought because she knows that young girl might someday cure disease. --

science project. I see it in the American who served his time. He

made mistakes as a child but now he is dreaming of starting over. And I

see it in the business owner who gives him that second chance. The

protest are determined to prove that justice matters and the young cop

walking the beat, treating everybody with respect. Doing the brave and

quite work of keeping us safe. I see it in the soldier who gives almost

everything to save his brothers, the nurse who tends to him until he can

run a marathon. The community that lines up to cheer him on. It is the

son who finds the courage to come out as who he is and the father

whose love for that son overrides everything that he has been taught.

I see it in the elderly woman who will wait in line to cast her vote

as long as she has to, the new citizen who casts his vote for the

first time, the volunteers who believe every vote should count.

Because each of them in different ways know how much that precious

right is worth. That is the America I know. That is the country we

love. Clear eyed, bighearted, undaunted by challenge. Optimistic

that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. That

is what makes me so hopeful about my future. I believe in change because

I believe in you, the American people, and that is why I stand here

as confident as I have ever been that the state of our union is

strong. Thank you! God bless you and God bless the United States of

America! CHEERING AND APPLAUSE. President Barack Obama wrapping up

his final State of the Union address to the American Congress and the

American public. He spoke for almost an hour, touching on the economy,

technology and climate change, on national security and the threat of

terrorism and then ending with a plea to the American voters to form

themselves better system of politics.

We talked earlier, Stuart, about how he would reach beyond the present to

the future of the country to appeal to the ideas. Did he achieve that

tonight? I thought that the last quarter of the speech was quite

stirring. The chamber but very quiet. -- got very quiet. He talked

about the political and electoral system we have and then he turned to

the American people. At the end, it seemed he was drawing a contrast

between the politicians and the American people and the goodness of

the American people and those positive values. I thought that was

staring and dramatic. I'm not sure I thought the first two thirds or

three quarters of the speech was as dramatic as that. President Obama is

now leaving the chamber and saying goodbye to the members of his

Cabinet, the Supreme Court justices who have been there, the ambassador

to the UN, and he will be heading back to the White House to begin his

final year in office after two terms as president. My sense, listening to

that last quarter of the speech where he appealed for a better

politics in this frankly dysfunctional political system was

almost that we were listening to the Barack Obama of 2008 with the

benefit and wisdom of eight years in office. But he has not given up

hope. That is what he reiterated again and again, I think. But you

are right. You can just imagine what the Republicans will see. They will

say that the president said the economy is in great shape but it is

not. He said we are the strongest country in the universe and there

are no great threat to us but there are threats to us. And this is

classic. It all depends on where you stand. Where you stand depends on

where you sit on the perspectives you have. The Republicans will blame

the President for a lot of this, his executive actions, saying he is

dismissive of his critics. But this was a big speech. There were some

legislative items in Rome. -- in there. But the last part of the

speech was much bigger and it was about people and the future of the

country. And we will get that Republican response from the

governor of South Carolina and she will be giving what is the

traditional Republican response to the State of the Union address. I'm

sure we will hear some of those criticisms. But I agree that the

final part of that speech when he spoke directly to the American

public and spoke of his optimism in them and called out these examples

of people he has met along the way who exemplified what he spoke about

as the best of America, that was quintessential Obama and it was

reminiscent of 2008. There is always a sense that the American people

will agree with him if they will only get out there in force the

politicians to respond to their needs and concerns and their hopes.

Although, as he said, and this was the part tinted with realism after

eight years in office, he came into office promising to do just this.

This is why he was the source of such hopes in 2008 and the source of

such excitement. He promised no longer a blue or red America but a

purple America, and it has been anything but. And he said it was one

of his greatest regrets. Exactly. I think that he did think he would be

able to transform the country more than he has. Instead, 25% of

Americans only think the country is heading in the right direction. Two

thirds said is on the track. There is more polarisation. And I

understand why the President did not acknowledge this, but if you look at

the populism of there and the anger to the establishment, it is

bipartisan. There is a sense that both parties have failed. In the

real world and America, there is a lot of anger. People are doing good

things. They are helping one another but when it comes to politics, they

have very different views of the parties and where the country should

be headed. President Obama is now signing autographs as he makes his

way back to the White House, leaving the chamber. It takes some time to

get out because so many people want to shake his hand. He takes longer

on the way out, now, having given that speech. It can take his time at

the bit. And right behind him was Steve Israel, who ran the Democratic

campaign committee, the organisation that elect Democrats to the House

around the country, and who served as chairman of that committee and

who has announced he is retiring from Congress at the now -- at the

end of this term. And one of the freedom riders. John Lewis. Shaking

the hand of the President. A real champion of the civil rights

movement. And he is still a member of the house of Congress. This must

be quite a moment for the President. His last State of the

union. This is the last time, presumably, he will walk down like

this... And usually, he is out a little bit quicker than this. He is

taking more time perhaps disfigured by. In any way, this is his formal

farewell to this chamber. -- in a way.

As the President leaves the chamber, and we will follow him as

he goes out there, you mentioned the electoral politics of an election

year and it struck me that there was almost a shadow of those Republican

candidates hanging over this state of the union address. It was hard to

ignore the reference to intolerance, demonising people, the anger and I

think we noticed three or four times at the very least... Maybe we are

reading too much into it. But it seemed to me that Donald Trump was

looking on somewhere, his presence within the chamber, almost. The

president kept bringing up references to Donald Trump, and to

some other Republicans like Ted Cruz. Even in a moment like this,

the president seemed to be responding to that. He did not

mention any of them by name, we did not hear Donald, Trump, or Ted

Cruz. He normally would have been in the chamber, as it is a required

protocol for them to be there, but he chose to skip it tonight. He is

campaigning instead in New Hampshire. Even in our election year

it is quite a striking thing to do. I think so. He is one of the most

conservative members of the Senate but a serious contender for the

Republican nomination right now. We had of course, other members who are

running the candidates. We saw shots of Marco Rubio and Bernie Sanders,

who is proving to be quite a problem for Hillary Clinton in the

Democratic race. He is running competitively nationally now. There

is President Obama signing those final order grass. Let me look at

this one more time. Takes one more look right around. I thought that

was a sweet moment. These must be staffers. Young interns as he says

hello and Lisa chamber. That was president of our's final State of

the union address. Let us get action now from the Republican Congress

men, who is from Indiana and he joins us now live from the chamber.

What did you make of the president's final State of the union

address. It all struck me as one big giant Jedi mind trick, try to

hypnotise the American people with something that is not true. We got

to the end of the speech but there was still no strategy to defeat

ISIL, nothing to jumpstart the economy and a lot of empty

rhetoric. But it sounded good. What did you think of his appeal to the

American public to introduce a more functioning system of politics into

the country? It is remarkable that in the eighth year he speaks as if

no problem in America is his fault, that it is everybody else's fault.

Clearly he has been a part of this divided rhetoric in our country.

Hopefully we can come together and there is opportunity is faster come

together. I completely agree that it will alternately be the American

people that forces us all together to get along. You call it a Jamiat

mind trick, I guess you have been watching Star Wars over the holidays

like many of us, but it is hard to argue with the president, that this

is one of the strongest economies that the world, at the moment as we

look at failing and merging markets, slowing China and Europe in the

doldrums. America does stand out. There is an old phrase that

sometimes you don't have to outrun the bear, just the you. By that

measure, that might be right. Out the middle of the American economy

Europe had wages flat line for 30 years in the middle of the economy.

Folks are worried about the future and it is true that some statistics

are better than they have been, but in working America, folks are

struggling. And I think that the president had 18 year on that issue

and when he had this rhetoric about ISIL being relatively weak and how

America is strong. Of course we have the strong as military in the world,

but there are Americans who have been murdered by the threat of

terrorist and I thought he was a little incentive to that tonight. I

joined here by one -- by another he has a question for you. Would you

accept any responsibilities and should Republicans except any

responsibilities for the polarisation in the country Russian

blue of course -- the polarisation in the country? Of course. I have

been hit the third year and I've had to my own rhetoric over the course

of the past several years. I would only suggest they can be one leader

in our system and he is the President of the United States, and

it is great to hear that talk tonight, but frankly, much has not

been matched by his actions over the past several years. The politics of

2016 and over the state of the union address and we were just saying that

we could not help hearing the ghost of perhaps your fellow Senator Ted

Cruz from the Senate and Donald Trump. Echoes of that in this

address. What did you make of what the president had to say about

them? Some of the rhetoric, I don't agree with either. Americans are

fired up and they are looking for strong leadership, frankly, I think

there is a great Winston Churchill quote that eyesight, Americans tend

to do the right thing after we have exhausted every other option. We

will get there before this presidential campaign is over. We

take this as a non- endorsement of Donald Trump, perhaps? Sorry I had a

little bit of trouble hearing you. Take that as you not endorsing

Donald Trump 's top loom we will see. The American people tend to get

it right. I suspect they will this time again. You heard a congressman

acknowledging that his party has not always been right and he has had to

Taunton track -- had to turn down the rhetoric. 'S suggestion that

they will get it right and move away from the anger and what we were

talking about in the polarisation being also refreshing. There are a

lot of Republicans who are embarrassed by them. I will

interrupt you because we're going to the governor of South Carolina who

was going to give the Republican response. I am speaking from

Colombia, our staple the capital city. Much like America as a whole

our state has a rich and collocated history, one that proves the idea

that each day can be better than the last. In just a minute, I will talk

about a vision of a brighter American future. But first, I will

say a few words about President Obama who just gave his final State

of the union address. Barack Obama's election as president seven

years ago broke historic areas and inspired millions of Americans as he

did when he first ran for office. Tonight he spoke eloquently about

grander things, he is at his best when he does that. Unfortunate, his

record has fallen far short than his soaring words. As he enters his

final year in office many Americans are still feeling the squeeze of an

economy too weak to raise income level. We're feeling the crushing

national debt, a healthcare plan that has made insurance less

affordable and doctors less available and chaotic unrest in many

of our cities. Even worse, we are facing the most dangerous terrorist

threat our nation has ever seen since September 11. And this

president appears unwilling or unable to deal with it. Soon be over

bar the presidency will end and America will have the chance to turn

in a new direction. That direction is what I want to talk about

tonight. At the outset, I will say this, you have paid attention to

what is happening in Washington and you are not naive. Neither am I. I

see what you see and many of your frustrations are my frustrations. A

frustration with the government that has grown, day after day, year after

year, and does not service any better. A frustration with the same

endless conversations we hear over and over again. A frustration with

promises made and never kept. We need to be honest with each other

and with ourselves while Democrats in Washington there -- bear much

response ability, they do not bear it alone. There's more than enough

blame to go around. We as Republicans need to own that truth

and we need to recognise our contributions to the erosion of the

public trust in America's leadership. We need to accept that

we have played a role in how and why our government is broken and then,

we need to fix it. The foundation that has made America that last and

best hope on earth has not gone anywhere and it still exists and it

is up to us to return to its. For me, that starts right where it

always has, I'm the proud daughter of Indian immigrants who reminded

that my brothers and sister how blessed we are to live in this

country. Growing up in the brawl south, my family did not look like

our neighbours and we did not have much. There were times that were

tough but we had each other. And we have the opportunity to do anything,

to be anything as long as we were willing to work for it. My story is

not much different from millions of other Americans. Immigrants are been

coming to our shores for generations to live the dream that is America.

They want it better for their children and for themselves. In this

country, we have seen time and time again that that dream is achievable.

To day, we live in a time of threats like few others in recent memory.

During anxious times it can be tempting to follow the starring

calls of the angriest voices. We must resist that temptation. No one

who is willing to work hard, up by our laws should never feel unwelcome

in this country. At the same time, that does not mean we open our

borders. We cannot do that. We cannot continue to allow immigrants

to come here illegally. In this age of terrorism, we must not letting

refugees has intentions could not be determined. We must fix our broken

immigration system. That mean. Illegal immigration and welcoming in

properly vetted immigrants, regardless of race and religion.

Just as we have done for centuries. I've no doubt that if we act with

proper focus we can protect our borders, sovereignty and our

citizens. All the while remaining true to America's noblest legacies.

This past summer, South Carolina was dealt a tragic blow. On an otherwise

ordinary Wednesday evening in June, at the historic mother and manual

church in Charleston, 12 faithful men and women, young and old went to

Bible study. That night someone you join them. He did not look like

them, he did not act like them, did not sound like them. They did not

throw him out, they did not call the police, instead, they pulled up a

chair and prayed with him for one hour. We lost nine incredible souls

that night. What happened after the tragedy is worth pausing to think

about. Our state was struck with shock, pain and fear. But our people

would not allow hate to win. We did not have violence, we held a vigil.

We had hugs instead of riots and we did not turn against each other

during race and religion and we turn to God and the values that have long

made our country the freest and greatest in the world. We removed a

symbol that was being used to divide us and we found the strength that

united us against a domestic terrorist and a hate we felt. There

is an important lesson in this. In many parts of society today, whether

in popular culture, academia, the media or politics. There is a

tendency to falsely equate noise with results. Some people think you

have to be the loudest voice in the room to make a difference, that is

just not true. Often the best thing we can do is turn down the volume.

When the sound is quite you can actually hear what someone else is

saying, and that, can make a world of difference.

It doesn't mean we won't have strong disagreements. We will. As we are

sure in this era, Republicans will stand up for our beliefs. If we held

the White House, taxes would be lower for working families. We would

put the brakes on runaway spending and debt. We would encourage

American innovation and success, instead of demonising them, so the

economy can sort and jobs will be available across the country --

soar. We will reform education to work best for students, parents and

teachers, not Washington bureaucrats. We would end the

disastrous health-care programme. We will replace it with the reforms

that lower the cost and let you get your doctor. We would respect

differences in modern families but we would also insist on respect for

religious liberty as a cornerstone of our democracy. We would recognise

the importance of the separation of powers in honour of the Constitution

in its entirety, and yes, that includes the second and 10th

amendments. We would make agreement that are celebrated in Israel and

protested in Iran, not the other way around. And rather than thanking

Allah brave men and women in uniform, we would actually

strengthen our military -- our brave. That is so both friends and

enemies will know that America seeks peace. But when we fight wars, we

want them. -- win. We have big decisions to make. The country is

being tested. We have been tested in the past and Allah people have

always risen to the challenge. We have all we need to be safe and

successful -- our. Our forefathers pave the way for us. Let's take

their values and strength and rededicate ourselves to doing

whatever it takes to keep America the greatest country in the history

of man. And woman. Thank you a good night and God bless. Nicky Hayden

Lee from South Carolina -- thank you, good night. That was the

Republican response to the President's State of the Union

address, talking about her own state of Carolina where there was that

awful shooting in Charleston, and her background as an immigrant.

Interestingly, calling on Americans to resist the temptation to follow

the of the angriest voices. We were speculating about who it was, or

whether it was a reference to Donald Trump as someone who reference to

immigrant Akram. Let's join Bob Casey -- immigrant background. What

did you make of it? I think it was a good speech. It was strong in terms

of focusing on the challenges we face. Not just this year but for

many years over the next generation. Economic security, the security of

the country, and the final message the President gave about working

together, because we have to work together to solve big problems as an

important message to hear. It was conversational. When it comes to

national security, the President has been accused of underplaying the

threat posed to Americans by so-called Islamic State. Tonight

again he was saying it would be wrong to say this is world War three

and that we are playing into their hands if we do so. Are they right to

do so? He got the tone right. He recognised the threat for what it is

by did not use hyperbole to explain it. He is clear that he has a duty -

as we all do as participants in the Federal government - to track down

and kill terrorists. He was very direct about that. I believe he made

a very strong commitment that in addition to hunting down and

destroying terrorists, we will defeat ISIS. I think he wisely gave

us a reminder that we cannot use language to substitute for good

policy. What we need from politicians here - both houses, both

parties - is suggestions and critiques about strategy, not just

pronouncements and tough sounding language. My hunch is maybe the

final section of the speech, where he appealed directly to Americans to

vote and be involved in politics for a less partisan politics in America,

might be the bit that is remembered after this State of the Union

address over. He came into office promising that - he has failed to

deliver it. He bears some responsibility, doesn't he, for the

partisan politics in the country? I think both parties and both branches

of government have to do more than we have. I think the President

actually said that. He said he is going to keep trying, even in this

last year. It is very difficult. The point he made about money and

politics - I don't care who the president is, as long as money plays

the role it does in politics, it doesn't matter how much of a great

leader you are, the president was all of those, he continues to be a

great leader, very smart and dedicated - but the grip money has

on politics has never been this bad. We have to figure out a way to

strange that. It is very difficult. -- change that. There is far too

much power. The role of money is too predominant. Until we change that,

no president, no Congress, will be able to change it. The $4 billion

election. Nice to see you again, Senator Casey. You have been in

politics many years. You were a statewide officeholder. Your father

served as governor of Pennsylvania. You are a very political family. I

wonder what you make of the populism we are seeing in the Republican

party and the Democratic Party. The President seemed to blame

politicians, and said if only the public would get involved. When you

look at where the public is, with the Republican Party, half of the

party supports Ted Cruz or Donald Trump at the moment, and a chunk of

the Democratic Party seems to be excited by, and enthusiastic about,

Bernie Sanders. What do you make of this phenomenon affecting both

parties? The good news is that people are engaged, that is helpful.

I think they became engaged starting in 2008 with the President's first

campaign. This year, they seem to have an intensity, or a server for

getting involved. That is constructive. What they should

demand from the candidate is what they are getting from the Democrats,

debate on issues, debate on how someone voted or their point of

view, what their plan is, not the invective and diatribes and divisive

rhetoric from the Republican side -- fervor. What people should demand as

they get engaged - I should say, they should demand - is to urge

their candidates to speak to the issues and have solutions, and not

just have a lot of hot air, which we have seen a lot of on the campaign.

The key voting state of Pennsylvania, Senator Casey, thank

you so much. Stuart, I haven't spoken to you about what you thought

of Nicky Hayden Lee's Republican response. I have felt sometimes

these responses have fallen flat -- Nicky Hayden Lee's. I thought she

did a good job tonight. I was really impressed -- Hailey's. She is a

rising star. She is. You know, following a State of the Union

address, with all of the grandeur, with all of the people there, with

the room and the excitement, it is almost impossible. We have seen a

number of good speakers fail miserably in trying to respond to

the President. She didn't really respond as much as talk about her

agenda, the Republican agenda. I thought she was poised, she seemed

serious Thomas she seemed thoughtful, she seemed to reach out

to groups -- Sirius, she seemed thoughtful. Reaching out to groups

that she wants to attract -- serious. I thought she did a really

good job. I guess I didn't expect much, but I thought she was quite

good. We thought we heard echoes of Donald Trump mentioned, if not by

name, two or three times. I thought Nicky Hailey referenced him as well.

It can be difficult to hear the angry voices. We must have to speak

about who it would be. We thought it was Donald Trump. Her talk about

immigration was interesting. She wasn't talking about deporting

illegal immigrants from America, she was talking about stopping more

coming in. She wasn't saying we have to get rid of those that are already

here. Welcoming properly vetted immigrants regardless of race or

religion as we have done for centuries, which is true. If we took

these two speeches, Nicky Hailey's address, and the President's talk

for more civilised discourse, you could see that happening from these

beaches. The tone was similar. The President, every once in awhile,

acknowledge differences -- speeches. He would acknowledge that everybody

needed to come together. She did the same thing. This is not and these

are not the people defining American politics, unfortunately. Voters are

angry. Politicians are playing to that anger. I understand what

Senator Casey said. Bernie Sanders talks about millionaires and

billionaires and hedge funds folks. He has groups that he demonises. And

Donald Trump and Ted Cruz have people. That is the nature we are

in. I don't think it is politics. It is our culture, it is the Internet,

it is cable television. Candidates are preaching to their audiences,

then narrow audiences. People can be anonymous in writing hateful,

mean-spirited responses on the Internet -- their narrow audiences.

I think culture has broken down. It is more course. The emphasis on

civility and discussing things even if we have differences, I think,

over the last decade or two has failed. This is not uniquely

American. We are seeing the same populism you have mentioned several

times this evening, we have seen it in Europe with the rise of populist

parties on the left and right. In Europe, Britain, France, Denmark - a

response to the same sense that politicians are not delivering. That

is what we are seeing, isn't it? The rise of people like Donald Trump. We

saw it with Ben Carson. I have heard supporters say to me, if we elect

politicians, we get the same results. When people are unhappy

they look for someone to blame. That is what we have seen. Both in Europe

and the US. Lets talk more about the details of what President Obama

spoke about. We've addressed the better politics issue. On the

national security front, and I can see that Republicans will hammer him

on that section too, I think his policy on Syria is one that allies

around the world have looked at and thought, this is your biggest

foreign policy failure, you haven't delivered. I am not sure that we

have heard, despite him saying that we have to take Islamic State

seriously, there was nothing new in terms of what he would do to defeat

them. You are right. It goes back to the President drawing a red line and

erasing it. There is a whole body of evidence that the President is

well-meaning, he is certainly correct that we don't want to create

animosity in the Muslim world, but the other hand, when you look at

Saudi Arabia, Israel, some allies, they dissatisfied with his

performance. Let's return to Capitol Hill. I am joined by the democratic

conference -- congresswoman. Congresswoman, what did he make of

the speech. -- what did you make of the speech? Can you hear me? I think

we are having problems reaching the congresswoman. It is of course very

loud. I have been there and after the address, all of the Congressmen

and women are trying to get their moment to speak to their audiences,

but they find the noise difficult. Instead, we will join Jon Sopel. You

have heard the address. What did you think? I would pick up on the points

you have been discussing. I thought the point on ISIL was long on

ambition but short on detail. Just saying that we hope to restore Syria

to a functioning democracy without making any kind of detailed analysis

of how to do it shows how difficult the problem is. The most interesting

bit... There is a quote attributed to turtle and all that history is

written by the victors -- Orwell. Barack Obama was doing his best to

sketch out his analysis -- Churchill and Orwell. He almost said it was

awful when I got here but look how great things are now. Americans

should be confident about the future. That was the thing that ran

through it. The most interesting passage was the last 10- 15 minutes

where he was heard in silence virtually. Forget all of the

applause breaks and cheering we had in the first part of the speech. I

thought the silence of the last part of the speech showed how serious the

topic was, which might appeal to the public, nor to the international

audience, but talking about the need to sort out the corrosive,

divisive, toxic nature of American politics I thought was one of the

interesting parts of what he had to say. We have been saying the same

thing. It was almost Barack Obama of 2008 with the realism of how

difficult it is after two terms in office. He said it was one of his

few regrets. He said he might not be a link in but he will keep trying to

change the terms of political debate in this country. It doesn't serve

the American people well. I thought there was a lot of optimism and

there was the serious bit where there was no applause at all and he

was ploughing through that text until he got to the point when

people kind of, yeah, I will applause you as he talked about the

sunny uplands, if you like, that could be there for Americans. You

have just come back from Chicago, speaking with supporters of the

President, and voters, what will they make of it?

They still want to give Barack Obama the benefit of the doubt because he

is their President. The first African-American president. That

part of the legacy is therefore good. There was a sense as well that

actually, have things changed a lot in the lives of the people living

there? Not so much -- there for good.

Hallow, congresswoman, I was wondering what you made of the

President's address? -- Hello. I think we are still having problems

with the line. They are not coming back to us tonight! It is hard to

hear. I really like then -- liked the last analysis. It looked like

the President got up and said, everything was pretty good. We have

reasons to be optimistic about the economy, national security, foreign

policy. The future is bright, we just have to make sure that the next

administration takes us there. When you look at things like wage growth,

Americans leading the workforce, the controversial around nuclear deal,

serious problems in our cities -- Iran. Immigration we haven't

tackled. I think a lot of people will say, there is a disconnect. The

picture was a little too rosy. Going into this address, the challenge

that the White House knew it had was precisely on the issue of national

security in particular, this issue of a disconnect. The American public

is not feeling safe, and the President tried to address it when

he said, look at the numbers. Actually the number of people who

are killed by terrorist attacks is tiny. He did not say it in that many

words, but he was trying to paint a picture that, if we give in to the

fear, Islamic State has won. Just because we are the strongest country

on earth doesn't mean that American citizens are feeling secure. In

politics, this is the most difficult situation, walking that fine line of

taking credit for things that have happened, and there have been

successes, unemployment was 10% in the first year of Obama's

presidency. It is now 5%. An extraordinary number of jobs

created. So, there were successes. So, how do you tell people that we

have those successes without working out of touch? It's a question of

being able to empathise with people's anxieties while inspiring

them to believe in the optimistic view. And that works if somebody is

really invested in the President's view and has a great respect for

him. It is the rest of the country that has the bigger problem. We are

going to try and go back to Capitol Hill. We are joined by a congressman

from Oklahoma. It is very noisy, I was wondering what he made of the

President's speech? There are some things you didn't say that I wish he

had, a plan to defeat Isil and a plan to get the economy moving more

rapidly. But, I thought it was a great speech. He tried to reach out

in a couple of places, noted the bipartisan objections he has made.

The points he made about not allowing us to be divided by race or

ethnicity, those were great points to make in a very controversial

year. It was a great effort. He laid out some areas in which we can work

together in his final year of office to get something is done. Do you

think that Obama is suggesting that, the divide between the

Republicans and other political parties, and trying to bridge the

divide, he has not been successful at that? This has been a very

aggressive president in terms of gun control and many areas. But to call

for the things he laid out today, that has been met with scepticism.

But the civil justice reform and the trends partnerships, putting out

adequate resources, finding a cure for cancer, those are areas we can

work together on, even in contentious times. So, we will try

and do that and let the political process take care of itself. Do you

have a question? Congressman, nice to see you. A political question, do

you think about Ted Cruz should have made it to the chamber to listen to

the State of the union, or do you understand and accept that it was

more important for him to be away? I understand he is on a tight

deadline, he is running for president. He needs to allow his

campaign schedule to dictate where he will be. As a rule, I do think

members should be here. If he wasn't running for office, I suspect he

would be here. I don't know whether he has attended previous addresses,

I suspect he has. You don't regard this decision as a slap to the

President? I don't. He has a campaign event, elections coming up.

I don't think it was meant to be a negative sign. When Obama was

running for senator, he himself missed many addresses. Governor of

Oklahoma, thank you for joining us. There were other members who were

running for the presidency to weather tonight, who I am sure would

have been much happier being able to go out and continue campaigning. All

of them facing challenges and looking ahead to this election

year. If you had to put your money somewhere, who will be standing up

there giving that address to Congress this time next year? I have

no idea. I think that Ted Cruz and Marco Rubio are the most likely to

be nominated, but I have been shocked and amazed by Donald

Trump's continuing strength. It is remarkable. On the Democratic side,

I still think that Hillary Clinton will be the nominee. It is amazing

that she is having problems with Bernie Sanders, given that most

Democrats like her and agree with her positions. They just find her a

bit too corporate. Thank you for joining us. We will all be curious

to see who will be behind that podium next year. Thank you for

joining us to watch President Obama's final state of the union

address.