President Obama delivered his final State of the Union address last night, challenging the nation to embrace future change and rejecting fear, and reminding the nation of his accomplishments (affordable health insurance for 18 million Americans, 14 million private sector jobs created, major gains in renewable energy use, much lower deficit, and, as he put it, "gas under two bucks a gallon ain't bad either."). For their part, the assembled Republicans mostly sat on their hands and pouted as the President skillfully contrasted their failed philosophy and record with his. At one point he reminded them that Osama bin Laden was eliminated on his watch, and that their extreme rhetoric -- e.g.calls to carpet bomb civilians -- wouldn't eliminate ISIL. He also took a shot at Republican efforts to undermine voting rights and their "practice of drawing our congressional districts so that politicians can pick their voters, and not the other way around."
At the conclusion of his speech, Obama gave a rousing portrait of America that he's seen over the years: generous, selfless, inclusive, and fearless, in other words the opposite of what Republicans promote:
"I see it in the soldier who gives almost everything to save his brothers, the nurse who tends to him ‘til he can run a marathon, and the community that lines up to cheer him on.
It’s the son who finds the courage to come out as who he is, and the father whose love for that son overrides everything he’s 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 for the first time; the volunteers at the polls who believe every vote should count, because each of them in different ways know how much that precious right is worth.
That’s the America I know. That’s the country we love. Clear-eyed. Big-hearted. Optimistic that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. That’s what makes me so hopeful about our future. Because of you. I believe in you. That’s why I stand here confident that the State of our Union is strong.