Obama: 'State of Our Union Is Getting Stronger'

President says restoring American dream our 'defining issue'

By John Johnson, Newser Staff

Posted Jan 24, 2012 8:11 PM CST | Updated Jan 24, 2012 9:27 PM CST

(Newser) – President Obama delivered his third State of the Union address tonight, with a focus as expected on economic inequality and the need for all Americans to get a "fair shot" at success, reports CNN. In fact, Obama called keeping the promise of the American dream alive the "defining issue of our time." (That includes revamping the tax code, he said. Details on his Buffett rule pitch here.)

Other highlights:

Giffords: Retiring Congresswoman Gabby Giffords got a rousing welcome when introduced, then a long hug from Obama when he arrived.
Education: "Tonight, I call on every state to require that all students stay in high school until they graduate or turn 18."
Familiar issue: "Pass the payroll tax cut without delay."
Tone it down: He said "Washington is broken" and asked lawmakers to "lower the temperature of this town. We need to end the notion that the two parties must be locked in a perpetual campaign of mutual destruction."
Foreign affairs: Besides tributes to the troops, foreign policy got relatively little attention, notes the New York Times.
Joke time: Referring to an old rule classifying milk spills as oil spills: "With a rule like that, I guess it was worth crying over spilled milk." BuzzFeed rounds up the groans here.

See excerpts of the GOP response by Indiana Gov. Mitch Daniels here. Special guests included Steve Jobs' widow and Warren Buffett's secretary.

President Obama, flanked by Joe Biden and John Boehner. (AP Photo/Saul Loeb, Pool)

Supreme Court Justices Ruth Bader Ginsburg and Stephen Breyer. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

President Obama embraces retiring Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. (AP Photo/Saul Loeb)

President Obama greets retiring Rep. Gabrielle Giffords. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Michelle Obama waves from the gallery. (Getty Images)

Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts greets President Obama. (AP Photo/J. Scott Applewhite)

President Obama gestures while giving his State of the Union address. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Two guests of note at the State of the Union speech: At left is Warren Buffett secretary Debbie Bosanek, and next to her is Steve Jobs' widow, Laurene Powell Jobs. (Getty Images)

Vice President Joe Biden greets retiring Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Rep. Gabrielle Giffords arrives prior to the speech. (Getty Images)

Retiring Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., right, is greeted by Democratic National Committee Chair Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

Vice President Joe Biden talks with House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio before the speech. (AP Photo/Pablo Martinez Monsivais)

President Obama speaks to a packed Capitol. (Getty Images)

Michele Bachmann confers on House floor before the speech. (Getty Images)

Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass., left, talks with Sen. Scott Brown, R-Mass., right, and Sen. Thomas Carper, D-Del. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Sen. John Thune, R-S.D., left, and Sen. John Barrasso, R-Wyo. (AP Photo/Evan Vucci)

Bomb technicians inspect the roof of the Capitol ahead of the speech. (Getty Images)

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Obama's State of Union Message: 'Game On'

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"Obama had a simple message for Republicans: Game on," writes Chris Cillizza of the Washington Post . What on the surface was a typical post-partisan Obama speech was actually full of populist challenges to Republicans. "This is Obama version 2.0: Harder, more cynical but perhaps also more effective."

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(NEWSER) - It's no great surprise given that Warren Buffett's secretary will be a guest, but President Obama will hit on the theme of income inequality in his State of the Union speech tonight. The White House released excerpts ahead of the 9pm speech, notes CNN . (Also, the phrase "built to last" looks to be a theme; it's in there twice.)

"We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by. Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules. What's at stake are not Democratic values or Republican values, but American values."
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(NEWSER) - President Obama delivered some highly effective moments and some fizzles in his uneven State of the Union address, writes Tom Schaller. His pledge to mend Washington works is fine if it's merely rhetoric to put Republicans on their heels, but he should know by now that "making nice" won't get things done, Schaller writes at FiveThirtyEight. More»

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Obama's State of Union Message: 'Game On'

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'Educator-in-chief's' address worked sometimes

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