President Obama delivered his State of the Union speech before Congress on Tuesday with only two years left in his second term. In his speech on Tuesday, President Obama spent much of his time speaking of his hopes for a better middle-class economy, jobs, American workers, College education, and Healthcare.

The president spoke of turning the page from the costly wars and the crippling recession from previous years of this new century saying, ” After a breakthrough year for America, our economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999.  Our unemployment rate is now lower than it was before the financial crisis.  More of our kids are graduating than ever before.  More of our people are insured than ever before.  And we are as free from the grip of foreign oil as we’ve been in almost 30 years.”

The president pointed out that many thought that the goals that he had set out through his previous years as president were too ambitious or misguided, but those goals brought fast economic growth, large deficit cuts, a doubled stock market, and a slow-down of Healthcare inflation. Using those as examples, he stated that “So the verdict is clear.  Middle-class economics works.  Expanding opportunity works.  And these policies will continue to work as long as politics don’t get in the way.”

He also re-informed the chamber and the American public of his plan to make the first two years of community college free, saying, “Keep in mind 40 percent of our college students choose community college.  Some are young and starting out.  Some are older and looking for a better job.  Some are veterans and single parents trying to transition back into the job market.  Whoever you are, this plan is your chance to graduate ready for the new economy without a load of debt.  Understand, you’ve got to earn it.  You’ve got to keep your grades up and graduate on time.”

President Obama even took the time to remind Congress that at one time he was a member among them, and pointed out the endless fund-raising and campaigning, and members that looked to the reaction to each and every decision that congressmen made. He said, “Imagine if we broke out of these tired old patterns.  Imagine if we did something different.  Understand, a better politics isn’t one where Democrats abandon their agenda or Republicans simply embrace mine.  A better politics is one where we appeal to each other’s basic decency instead of our basest fears.  A better politics is one where we debate without demonizing each other; where we talk issues and values, and principles and facts, rather than “gotcha” moments, or trivial gaffes, or fake controversies that have nothing to do with people’s daily lives.”

The president spoke of working with congress, but also spoke of his willingness to use his veto pen if necessary.

Alaska’s delegation reacted on party lines to the President’s address on Tuesday. Lisa Murkowski, Alaska’s senior senator stated after the address:

“What we heard tonight was we’re going to increases taxes instead of making economic opportunities available to people so that they can better themselves and their families. Instead of finding those ways that we can provide better jobs and opportunities for our families so that they can put their kids through college and really better themselves, put retirement away. What we heard is that government is the answer. It will be government that will provide for free community college education, it will be government that sets minimum wages, it will be government that provides childcare, it will be government that leads on so many of these areas. I don’t think that most of us view the government as that answer. And in the president’s speech, not only did he say government was the answer, but if you don’t like the proposals that I’m putting forward, I’m going to veto them. That’s not cooperation. That’s not governing together. So, it was a bit of a disappointment from my perspective tonight.”

Alaska’s lone representative, Rep. Don Young, was a little more acidic on his reaction to the president’s address. In a release after the president’s speech he said:

 “For the sixth time, I’ve walked away from this President’s State of the Union address disappointed and concerned for the agenda and vision he’s laid out to solve the many issues facing the American people. Unfortunately, the President has once again missed the mark in terms of strengthening the nation’s economy and assisting a majority of middle-class Americans in finding relief from rising costs, growing regulatory burdens, and an ever expanding federal government. Simply put, bigger government and expanded bureaucracy is not the answer to our nation’s problems.”

Regardless of our delegate’s post-speech remarks, in the  president’s closing statement he gave the American public a modicum of thanks for the past decade and a half, and  hope for our future, when he closed with, “My fellow Americans, we, too, are a strong, tight-knit family.  We, too, have made it through some hard times.  Fifteen years into this new century, we have picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves off, and begun again the work of remaking America.  We have laid a new foundation.  A brighter future is ours to write.  Let’s begin this new chapter together — and let’s start the work right now.”

The 2015 State of the Union can be viewed in its entirety below.

  2015, barack obama, president, speech, state of the union