In final State of the Union, Obama says he wants to 'focus on our future'

In his final State of the Union address, President Obama called on leaders to "fix our politics," saying "one of the few regrets of my presidency... [is that] the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better."

Mostly eschewing the proposals and policies he would pursue in his final year in office, he instead launched a vigorous defense of his record and cautioned against giving in to fear or despair.

He called worries about American decline "political hot air." The United States of America is "the most powerful nation on Earth," the president said. "Period. It's not even close."

Subscribe to The Week

Escape your echo chamber. Get the facts behind the news, plus analysis from multiple perspectives.

SUBSCRIBE & SAVE

Sign up for The Week's Free Newsletters

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

From our morning news briefing to a weekly Good News Newsletter, get the best of The Week delivered directly to your inbox.

Sign up

He touted the economic recovery he presided over, saying the U.S. has "the strongest, most durable economy in the world." Anyone who claims otherwise is "peddling fiction," he said.

He vigorously defended the power of government to improve people's lives. On the safety net, the president said social security and Medicare are "more important than ever," and "we shouldn't weaken them, we should strengthen them."

While acknowledging the importance of the private sector, he also challenged America to make choices about "what role the government should play in making sure the system’s not rigged in favor of the wealthiest and biggest corporations." "Food stamp recipients didn't cause the financial crisis; recklessness on Wall Street did," he said.

Obama called for more innovation, saying "the spirit of discovery is in our DNA," and said he wants to see the U.S. become "the country that cures cancer once and for all." For those who dispute the science around climate change, "have at it," the president said. "You'll be pretty lonely, because you'll be debating our military, most of America's business leaders, the majority of the American people [and] almost the entire scientific community."

He also cautioned against demonizing Muslims or playing to people's fears. "When politicians insult Muslims, when a mosque is vandalized, or a kid bullied, that doesn’t make us safer. That’s not telling it like it is. It’s just wrong," he said.

The president even worked in a few jokes, opening his speech to Congress with, "I know some of you are antsy to get back to Iowa."