President
Obama offered a robust defense (NYT) of his
record on the economic recovery, energy development, education, and global
affairs in his State of the Union address on Tuesday night. The president pushed
an expansive foreign policy vision
(WSJ) that touted progress on U.S.-Cuba relations, troop withdrawal
from Afghanistan, and nuclear negotiations with Iran while pressing for far-reaching cyber security legislation
(Guardian). His focus on climate change framed energy policy as a
national security issue, while his plea for Congressional support for major trade deals
(Bloomberg) with Europe and Asia drew more support from Republicans than
from fellow Democrats. On terrorism, the president lauded the U.S.-led coalition
against ISIS, but argued that Congress must pass a new resolution (Al Jazeera)
authorizing force in Iraq and Syria.
Analysis
"Even
though this year’s State of the Union is Obama’s first since he was forced to
deploy hundreds, and now thousands, of U.S. troops to Iraq to combat the Islamic
State, the president’s message remains largely the same: the long war there is
over, and he will not be launching a new one,"
writes Kate Brannen in Foreign Policy.
"It’s
not surprising that Obama devoted so much of the foreign-policy
section of his speech to Cuba. He clearly hoped that by this point in his
presidency he’d be taking a victory lap not only for the recession he overcame
but for the wars he brought to a close. Now, instead of ending hot wars, he has
to be content ending a cold one," argues Peter Beinart in the
Atlantic.
"The
reaction from Republicans in Congress to President Obama’s State of the Union
address was, as expected, broadly negative. But there are some issues the
president identified that Republicans have said they could work with
him on: authorizing military force in Iraq and Syria, new cybersecurity
legislation, tax reform; and approving new free trade agreements," writes Tim
Mak in the Daily Beast.
