Sunday, March 24, 2024

Did Republicans Stand During Obama Sotu

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‘he Never Gives Up And He Does Not Quit’: President Honors War Hero Injured On His 10th Tour Of Afghanistan In State Of The Union Address Before Leading Emotional Standing Ovation In His Honor

Obama pokes fun at GOP during State of the Union speech
  • Both sides of the house give standing ovation to Afghanistan and Iraq veteran Ranger Sgt. 1st Class Cory Remsburg
  • President Obama praised him as a shining example of bravery to Americans during his fifth State of the Union speech on Tuesday evening
  • In a touching gesture – Sgt. Remsburg acknowledged the applause with a thumbs-up
  • The president then replied with his own thumbs-up before giving the wounded soldier a salute
  • Remsburg was the guest of first lady Michelle Obama – who invited those whose personal stories can help highlight a particular policy or issue for the president
  • Also in attendance were Boston bombing survivor Jeff Bauman and Carlos Arredondo
  • Arredondo was the man seen wearing a cowboy hat carrying him to safety in a memorable picture from the terror attack

Other Topics And Goals

  • A challenge to pursue innovation in “our generations’ Sputnik moment.”
  • Replace No Child Left Behind with another form of education reform. A good amount of time was directed towards education during the address.
  • The President announced that he will be taking a trip to Brazil, Chile and El Salvador in the spring, to sign trade deals, which will help create tens of thousands of new jobs.
  • Remain committed to the War in Afghanistan, the War on Terror, and on pressuring regimes like Iran, which is pursuing nuclear weapons, and North Korea, which has nuclear weapons.

State Of The Union 201: How Americans See The Nation Their Leaders And The Issues

President Obama and other administration officials have been road-testing several possible themes and proposals that are likely to come up in his State of the Union speech today. Heres a look at public opinion on the issues that Obama and Republicans say they will push in the coming year, as well as Americans views of their leaders and how well they think things are going in the country.

1Whats most important: Domestic issues. Despite a year of turmoil and new threats abroad, Americans still overwhelmingly say it is more important for Obama to focus on domestic policy than foreign policy, although by a smaller margin than previous years. The public has put the priority on domestic matters each year during Obamas presidency. This year, 67% hold that view, lower than previous years, when it was as high as eight-in-ten or more. One-in-five Americans want Obama to focus more on foreign policy that figure had been in single digits the previous three years.

2Terrorism: For the first time in five years, as many Americans cite defending the U.S. against terrorism as a top policy priority as say that about strengthening the nations economy . There has been little change from previous years in the publics worries about an imminent threat and about seven-in-ten Americans say the government is doing very or fairly well in reducing the threat of terrorism.

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Is Obama The First President To Get Heckled During An Address To Congress

A Republican representative from South Carolina, Joe Wilson, heckled President Obama during his speech to Congress Wednesday night. In response to Obamas statement that the proposed health care bill would not cover illegal immigrants, Wilson shouted, You lie! House Majority Leader Steny Hoyer said, I have never in my 29 years heard an outburst of that nature with reference to a president of the United States speaking as a guest of the House and Senate, while White House Chief of Staff Rahm Emanuel said, No president has ever been treated like that. Ever. Is Obama really the first president to get heckled during an address to Congress?

It depends on what you mean by heckle. Members of Congress frequently express their disapproval audibly during a presidential speech. When Bill Clinton outlined his health care plan in 1993, for example, some Republicans snickered, shook their heads, made faces, and even shouted no. And when George W. Bush claimed in his 2005 State of the Union that Social Security will be exhausted and bankrupt by 2042, Democrats responded with boos. But last night may be the first time a congressman went beyond communal mutteringand interrupted the president with a loud and denigrating retort.

The government has no plans to increase public expenditure in Vietnam.Rubbish!Ill come to your special interest in a minute, sir.

Got a question about todays news? .

Republicans Are So Over Obama That They Started Leaving Before He Was Done With The State Of The Union

What did Republican lawmakers hate about President Obama

They couldnt wait to be done with the Obama era.

The Republican exodus began before President Obama had even finished.


As soon as the president gave his closing assessment Tuesday night on the state of the unionunsurprisingly, that its strongin his final such address to Congress, the GOP side of the House chamber got up to leave.

Theyd had enough, it seemed, with the era of Obama, and had no interest in hearing anything more. But he wasnt quite finished: He still needed to deliver the customary God bless the United States of America. By the time hed said it, though, half the GOP had already turned their backs on himperhaps so they could head for the waiting TV cameras. It was a symbolic culmination to an optimistic, forward-looking speech that garnered only tepid bipartisan support.

Obama struck a hopeful tone, emphasizing that changewhile unsettlingcan be positive. Though the country had been through big changes before, America rose to the challenge, overcoming the fear to slam the brakes.

We made change work for us, always extending Americas promise outward, to the next frontier, to more and more people, he said. And because we didbecause we saw opportunity where others saw only perilwe emerged stronger and better than before.

That optimism, White House communications director Jen Psaki told reporters Tuesday, comes in the face of Republican claims that the country is quickly headed for the gutter.


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Obama Who Sought To Ease Partisanship Saw It Worsen Instead

By Christi Parsons and Lisa Mascaro

He first achieved national renown with a speech hailing bipartisanship, and spent much of his presidency singing the praises of cooperation across party lines.

But nearly all of his major accomplishments resulted from party-line votes or executive actions.

And if Republicans accused him of paying too much attention to Democratic interests, allies blamed him for neglecting his party. Democrats lost a dozen governorships and hundreds of state legislative seats, as well as control of Congress, during his tenure.


President Obama leaves office with job approval ratings comparable to the high final marks for Presidents Reagan and Clinton. But unlike them, Obamas support is overwhelmingly party-based.

Eight in 10 Democrats on average approved of Obamas work over the last eight years, while only about 1 in 8 Republicans did so. Now nearly 9 in 10 Democrats and 6 in 10 independents, but only about 1 in 7 Republicans, give him positive marks, according to polling by the nonpartisan Pew Research Center.

Thats disheartening for the leader who, as a little-known Illinois state legislator running for the U.S. Senate, was hailed at the Democratic National Convention in 2004 when he declared, There’s not a liberal America and a conservative America there’s the United States of America.

Last January, in his final State of the Union address, Obama cited the increase in partisanship during his presidency as among his greatest regrets.

It Never Was Going To Matter One Way Or The Other

Seriously, thats the whole point, isnt it, that no matter what came out of his mouth it wasnt going to be received well? Weve come a long way in this country. It used to be that we fought over solutions, and now we fight over whats a problem and what isnt. Obama, outside of his stance on social issues such as marriage equality, has by and large been the archetypal Republican from circa 1984 or so, but dont tell that to Republicans. Theyll never, ever see it. No matter how easy hes been on Wall Street, no matter how much hes let the military industrial complex write his playbook in Syria and in drone strikes, conservatives are convinced the that comes after his name means hes the spawn of Satan himself, and no matter how much common sense comes out of his mouth, they will never, ever accept it, much less praise it.


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Barack Obama: Domestic Affairs

First-Term Transition and Appointments

Since 1933, when the 20th Amendment to the Constitution moved up the date of the presidents inauguration from March 4 to January 20, new presidents-elect have had about eleven weeks to make the transition from candidate to president. Several important tasks must be accomplished in this period if the transition is to be successful. None is politically more important than appointing the White House staff and the cabinet. None is personally more important than preparing the new president’s family for life in the White House.

During the summer of 2008, Obama appointed John Podesta, the president of the Center for American Progress, a liberal think tank, and former chief of staff in the Clinton White House to begin preparing for the transition that would occur if Obama won the election. In October, President George W. Bush appointed a transition team to work cooperatively with whichever candidate was elected. As a result, Obama could get started as soon as the results were in on November 4. Just two days later, Obama announced that Representative Rahm Emanuel of Chicago would be his White House chief of staff.

Financial Troubles and Recovery

Health Care Reform

Other Domestic Policy Initiatives

Budget Negotiations

Supreme Court and Other Judicial Appointments

The Start of the Second Term

Executive Action

Obama Confronts Americans Fears In State Of The Union Speech

The 31 Times Republicans Applauded Obama During SOTU
  • Read in app

Mr. Obama delivered his final State of the Union address.

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    Mr. Obama delivered his final State of the Union address.

    Credit…Doug Mills/The New York Times

  • Slide 2 of 9

    America should harness innovation, Mr. Obama said, not be intimidated by it.

    Credit…Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

  • Slide 3 of 9

    Mr. Obama defended his approach to taking on the Islamic State.

    Credit…Doug Mills/The New York Times

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    Mr. Obama sought to contrast Republicans bleak appraisals of the state of the nation with his own upbeat argument.

    Credit…Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

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    Michelle Obama during the speech.

    Credit…Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

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    Senator Marco Rubio with congressional Republicans during the address.

    Credit…Doug Mills/The New York Times

  • Slide 7 of 9 7/9

    Among the guests invited by Republican lawmakers was Kim Davis, the Kentucky court clerk who became a folk hero to social conservatives for refusing to sign marriage certificates for same-sex couples.

    Credit…Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

  • Slide 8 of 9 8/9

    Mr. Obama appealed to Americans to reject the politics of fear and the polarization that has led to gridlock throughout his presidency.

    Credit…Stephen Crowley/The New York Times

  • Slide 9 of 9

    Mr. Obama left the House chamber after his final State of the Union address.

    Credit…Doug Mills/The New York Times

By and Michael D. Shear


transcript

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Supreme Court Justices’ Response

During the address, Obama condemned the Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission ruling, stating, “Last week, the Supreme Court reversed a century of law that I believe will open the floodgates for special interests including foreign corporations to spend without limit in our elections.” Justice Samuel Alito was seen frowning and mouthing the words “not true” when Obama criticized the Supreme Court.

Chief Justice John Roberts later commented on the subject at the University of Alabama, saying, “The image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court according to the requirements of protocol has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling.”

You Lie Moment Interrupting A Presidential Speech Reflects The Slide To Disunity

Two of the most memorable moments of recent presidential addresses to Congress did not involve the man delivering the speech.


One came when a Republican congressman infamously yelled out You lie at the president, while the other served as a more poignant moment: an empty chair to remind members of Congress of a colleague who was nearly murdered in a mass shooting, with a pair of lawmakers, a Democrat and a Republican, sitting on either side of the chair.

Those two events, in 2009 and 2011, represent the slide from decorum and civility on Capitol Hill, while also reminding lawmakers how to rise above the heated debates.

But theres little doubt which force has been winning lately. In President Obamas last few speeches to Congress and President Trumps first few, theres been less unity than ever at the State of the Union.

The feel-good bipartisanship from 2011 seems like a bygone era from sometime last century. A few weeks after then-Rep. Gabrielle Giffords was nearly killed outside a Tucson shopping center, lawmakers adorned ribbons to mourn the six lives lost that day, and dozens of lawmakers crossed the aisle to sit in bipartisan pairs.

Tucson reminded us that no matter who we are or where we come from, each of us is a part of something greater something more consequential than party or political preference, said Obama, whose guests included Giffordss surgeon.


You lie! Rep. Joe Wilson shouted from the Republican side of the chamber.

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State Of The Union In 90 Seconds

9:51 p.m. THREE SUPREME COURT JUSTICES ABSENT Just two-thirds of the Supreme Court is present at the State of the Union address, Time reports. Conservative justices Clarence Thomas, Samuel Alito and Antonin Scalia are not in the House chamber for the presidents speech. Scalia hasnt gone for more than a decade, while Thomas has decried the event as so partisan. In 2010, after Obama criticized the courts Citizens United decision, cameras caught Alito mouthing not true.

9:48 p.m. OBAMA ON CUBA When what youre doing doesnt work for fifty years, its time to try something new. And this year, Congress should begin the work of ending the embargo.

9:46 p.m. WHAT HE SAID, WHAT HE MEANT, PT. 6: OBAMA CALLS FOR AUMF AGAINST ISIL


What he said: Tonight, I call on this Congress to show the world that we are united in this mission by passing a resolution to authorize the use of force against ISIL.

What he meant: Step up, McCain.

9:44 p.m. PARIS ATTACK TALK: Lawmakers, including Rep. Gwen Moore of Oklahoma, hold up yellow pencils when Obama brings up the attack in Paris.

9:42 p.m. WHAT HE SAID, WHAT HE MEANT, PT. 5

What he said: Look, Im the first one to admit that past trade deals havent always lived up to the hype.

What he meant: I hear you, Rosa DeLauro.

9:39 p.m. THE ISSUE OBAMA AND CONGRESSIONAL REPUBLICANS AGREE ON

First time Rs give Obama a standing ovation and Dems don’t – 33 minutes into speech, calling for Trade Promotion Authority

Manu Raju

President Obama Orders Hillary Clinton Arrested For Benghazi/being Hillary Clinton

Sheila Jackson Lee on Twitter: " This is how Republicans ...

What if Obama got in front of the whole nation last night and said, My fellow Americans, I must come clean. I know that Hillary Clinton abandoned our people in Benghazi that night as so many of you truly intelligent and well-bathed patriots have told me is the case, and tonight I am having her arrested for that, and for also being Hillary Clinton in general? What do you think the response would be? If you said, They wouldnt trust it and theyd assume he was covering up some larger, more far-fetched conspiracy, youd be right and you deserve a cookie.

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Gov Nikki R Haley Delivers The Republicans’ Vision

The governor of South Carolina responds to President Obama’s address, outlining what a Republican-led administration would look like.

NIKKI HALEY, GOP RESPONSE, STATE OF THE UNION, REPUBLICAN

He defended his approach to taking on the Islamic State, also known as ISIS or ISIL, describing it as a dangerous threat to the United States that must be dealt with, but not an existential one, and not a force that warrants a commitment of American ground forces in Iraq and Syria.

The president also said the United States is uniquely positioned to rally other countries to solve global problems, highlighting his work in forging a nuclear deal with Iran, opening a new era of relations with Cuba, pressing for a global accord reached in Paris to combat climate change and efforts to stop the spread of Ebola.

Republicans, too, used the occasion to contrast their agenda and their values with those of the sitting president, and to offer their own, far more negative assessment of his tenure.

The presidents record has often fallen far short of his soaring words, Gov. Nikki R. Haley of South Carolina said in her official response, delivered immediately after Mr. Obamas. As he enters his final year in office, many Americans are still feeling the squeeze of an economy too weak to raise income levels.

Even worse, she added, we are facing the most dangerous terrorist threat our nation has seen since September 11th, and this president appears either unwilling or unable to deal with it.

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