Obama promises unorthodox State of the Union address
- 8 years ago
US President Barack Obama has promised his final State of the Union address next week will focus on issues "beyond the next election" and skip the traditional list of the year's legislative goals.
Facing an ultra-hostile Republican-controlled Congress with its attention fixed on the 2016 election, Obama released a video message Wednesday promising the address will break with tradition.
White House chief of staff Denis McDonough indicated Obama will draw a contrast between now and his first State of the Union, when the country was mired in the Great Recession.
"We still have work to do, but there's no question: Together, we've brought America back," McDonough said in an email message.
"But what we have left to do is bigger than any one policy initiative or new bill in Congress.
This is about who we are, where we're headed, and what kind of country we want to be."
Facing an ultra-hostile Republican-controlled Congress with its attention fixed on the 2016 election, Obama released a video message Wednesday promising the address will break with tradition.
White House chief of staff Denis McDonough indicated Obama will draw a contrast between now and his first State of the Union, when the country was mired in the Great Recession.
"We still have work to do, but there's no question: Together, we've brought America back," McDonough said in an email message.
"But what we have left to do is bigger than any one policy initiative or new bill in Congress.
This is about who we are, where we're headed, and what kind of country we want to be."