keeping us safe. i see it in the soldier who gives almost everything to save , the nurse who tends to him until he can run a marathon. the community that lines up to cheer him on. who finds the courage to come out for who he is in the father whose love for that son overrides everything he has been taught. i see it in the elderly woman who will wait in line to cast your vote as long as she has to, the new citizen who casts his vote for the first time, the volunteers at the polls who believe every vote should count. each of them, in different ways, know how much that precious right is worth.

know.s the america i that's the country we love. clear eyed, bighearted, undaunted by challenge, optimistic that unarmed truth and unconditional love will have the final word. that is what makes me so hopeful .bout our future i believe in change because i believe in you, the american people. here aswhy i stand confident as i have ever been that the state of our union is strong. , god you, god bless you bless the united states of america. [applause]

>> great job, mr. president. >> great to meet you. pres. obama: thank you so much.

thank you. happy new year.

pres. obama: this one, you should probably send in. >> it works. i want to make sure that it does work. thank you. appreciate you. pres. obama: hey!

appreciate it. >> really inspiring. magnificent. obama: he definitely would have been. john lewis, i love you. lewis: i love you, too. pres. obama: happy new year, everybody. [indiscernible]

while just sent this in? -- why don't you just said this in? on the christmas pictures, send them and that we will give them back to you. don't fall. miami?you coming to pres. obama: i promise you i would. thank you. event? -- how have you been? here is one of my favorites right here. it was an honor.

selfies.ake if i start -- good to see you. tell them i said hey. on, coleman? how have you been? >> great job, mr. president. i hope you will come when you are a citizen. pres. obama: i like the beard,

man. as gray as my hair. >> eight more years. pres. obama: eight more years for you. i'll vote for you. it's not bad. let me look at this thing one last time. that is kind of cool. hey guys, how are you doing? good to see you. guys.you

>> the question is on the motion to adjourn. those in favor say aye. the ayes have it. the house stands adjourned until 9 a.m. tomorrow. >> south carolina governor nikki haley delivered the republican response to the state of the union -- to the state of the union address. she spoke at the statehouse in columbia for 10 minutes. gov. haley: good evening. i am nikki haley, governor of the great state of south carolina. i have speaking tonight from columbia come our state's capital city. much like america as a whole, our state has a rich and complicated history, one that proves the idea each day can be

better than the last. it just a minute, i am going to talk about a vision of a brighter american future, but first i want to say a few words about president obama, who just gave his final presidential address. barack obama's election for president broke barriers and inspired millions of americans. tonight, president obama spoke eloquently about grant things. he is at his best when he does that. unfortunately, the president's record is often fallen far short of his soaring words. as he enters his final year in office, many americans are still feeling the squeeze of an economy too weak to raise income levels. we are feeling a crushing debt,al just, -- national a health care plan that has made doctors less available, and unrest in cities.

even worse, we are facing the most dangerous terror threat our nation has seen since september 11, and this president appears unwilling or unable to deal with it. soon, the obama presidency will add and america will have a chance to turn in a new direction. that direction is what i want to talk about tonight. at the outset, i will say this. you have paid attention to what has been happening in washington and you are not naive. neither am i. i see what you see. many of your frustrations are my frustrations. a frustration with a government that has grown day after day, year after year, yet doesn't serve us any better, a frustration with the same endless conversations we hear over and over again, a frustration with promises made and never cap. we need to be honest with each other and with ourselves.

while democrats in washington very much responsibility for the today,s facing america they do not bear it alone. there is more than enough blame to go around. we as republicans need to own that turf. we need to recognize our contributions to the erosion of the public trust in america's leadership. we need to accept that we have played a role in how and why our government is broken. and then, we need to fix it. the foundation that has made america that last best hope on earth hasn't on anywhere. it still exists. it is up to us to return to it. for me, that starts right where it always has. i'm the proud daughter of indian immigrants reminded my brothers and my sister and me every day how blessed we were to live in this country. south, up in the rural our family did not look like our

neighbors and we didn't have much. there were times that were tough, but we had each other, and we had the or -- had the opportunity to do anything, to be anything, as long as we were willing to work for it. immigrants seven coming to our shores for generations to live the dream that is america. -- we haveo better seen time and again that that dream is achievable. today, we live in a time of threats like few others in recent memory. times, it can be tempting to follow the siren call of the angriest voices. we must resist that temptation. no one who is willing to work hard, abide by our laws, and love our traditions, should ever feel unwelcome in this country. at the same time, that does not mean that we flat-out open our borders. we cannot do that.

to allow continue immigrants to come here illegally. in this age of terrorism, we must not let in refugees whose intentions cannot be determined. we must fix our broken immigration system. that means stopping illegal immigration, and it means welcoming properly vetted legal immigrants regardless of their race or religion, just like we have for centuries. i have no doubt that if we act with proper focus, we can protect our borders, our ,overeignty, and our citizens all while remaining true to legacies.noblest this past summer, south carolina was dealt a tragic blow. on an otherwise ordinary wednesday evening in june, at churchry mother emmanuel in charleston, 12 faithful men and women, young and old went to

bible study. that night, someone new joined them. he didn't look like them, didn't act like them, didn't sound like them. they didn't throw him out, they didn't call the police. instead, they pulled up a chair .nd prayed with him for an hour we lost nine incredible souls that night. what happened after the tragedy is worth popping to think about. -- worth pausing to think about. our people would not allow hate to win. we didn't have violence, we had vigils. we didn't have riots, we had hugs. we didn't turn against each other's race or religion, we turn toward god and to the values that have long made our country the freest and greatest in the world. we removed the symbol that was being used to divide us and we found a strength that united us

against a domestic terrorist and the hate that filled him. there is an important lesson in this. in many parts of society today, whether in popular culture, academia, the media, or politics, there is a tendency to falsely equate noise with results. some people think that you have to be the loudest voice in the room to make a difference. of course that does not mean we will not have strong disagreements. we will. but as we usher in this era, if we held the white house, taxes would be lower for working-class families and we would put the brake on runaway spending and

debt. our economy would truly soar. good jobs would be available throughout the country. we would reform education so it better for families and students, not washington in and bosses. lower costs and let you keep your doctor. you would respect differences and modern families that also insist on religious liberty as a cornerstone for democracy. we'll read recognize the importance of separation of power and on earth the constitution and yes, that includes the second the and the 10th amendment. we would celebrate the agreements that were made in it israel, not iran.

and rather than just think think our men and -- thanking our men and women in uniform, we would be behind them so that our friends and enemies know when we fight wars, lee whitnum. -- we win them. theave always risen to challenge. we have all the guidance we need to be safe in successful. our forefathers paved the way. let us take their strength and rededicate ourselves to making america the greatest country in the history of man and woman. thank you, good night, and god bless. >> president obama's final state of the union address clocked in at 58 minutes and 42 seconds.

the longest, bill clinton's state of the union address clocked in at just under 80 minutes. and jimmy carter's the shortest at just under 32 minutes. >> on the next washington journal, your reaction to president obama's final state of the union address. washington journal is live at can a.m. eastern and you call in or join us through facebook or twitter. ofn to the university nebraska in omaha on wednesday. will have coverage at 5 p.m. eastern here on c-span. >> he said to him, you know, we have college age kids covered here in alabama but it is really

the kids in the elementary school that are suffering. african-americans are getting poorer education, horrible buildings. separate but not equal. night, a documentary filmmaker talks about her latest and about julius rosenwald his experience with booker t. washington and in the south to bring schools to those in rural america. >> he said, sears together these it houses. why don't we just make those? , i want us to do it. it was probably the best thing he did. it morphed into a thousand schools all over the south including maryland.

that is sunday night on c-span's q&a. announcer: sometime soon, president and mrs. obama will leave at the white house for their brief ride to the capital. where shortly after 9 p.m. president obama will make his final report before a joint session of congress. we will set the stage historically and politically and our cameras will show you what is happening inside the capitol as the congress, supreme court, the our military leaders, and the diplomatic corps gather in the house chambers. here to help us understand some of the history of tonight's event is the u.s. senate's historian. let's set the stage for why this event has become such an important night. was it always so? betty: president sent their message and writing. it was not a big event like this. in 1947 we began television

coverage and that made it a big event and a national event. since the 1940's it has been a major public event. host: it is mandated by the constitution, in article 2, section three. 2, section three. the president should from time to time. john adams delivered his in person. oft tradition continued sending a written message. radio came along and president calvin coolidge was the first to use it. the first presidential broadcast 47.in 19 was it a television audience that made that decision? had on theevelt first evening broadcast by radio. it did not have quite the same

impact. 1960 lyndon johnson understood the power of media. in 1960 five he decided to take the state of the union address which had always been given admitted day around high noon every day and he put it into primetime viewing and gave it to a primetime viewing audience. that tripled quat -- and quadrupled his audience and prompted the opposition to get organized as well. click's continuing with technology, george w. bush was the first white house webcast although c-span had been webcasting since 1997 on our website. the white house has done it by the internet since 2002. george w. bush had the first hd state of the union address. in the obama years it has become high-tech, very much digitally oriented. how did social media change the state of them union -- of the union? betty: we often hear things about the television audience

shrinking but as the television audience diminishes the other audience is growing. through thet it internet by streaming, by twitter, social media sites, facebook, that type of stuff. that has expanded the audience to such a degree that it is probably reaching a broader array of people now that -- than it has ever before. season: the other tradition began in 1982 when president reagan invited guests to sit in the gate -- chamber. his first guest was lenny skutnik. betty: there had been a terrible airplane crash in washington, planeand air florida crashed into the bridge going into the potomac river. he was the man who had died --

dived into the water to see people and helped pull people to safety. president reagan that knowledge temp as a true american hero and he invited him to sit in the gallery of the house chamber for the state of the union address. he acknowledged him and recognized him during the process of the address. it started a new tradition and now pretty much every year we have presidential visitors in the gallery and they are skutniks because it began with that hero. betty: the first lady will have 23 guests in an empty seat. the empty seat is to signify victims of gun violence in the united states so that will be a theme in the president's address tonight. it has been interesting watching how the president's use these for political purposes. they are often striking a chord for a number of the provisions

in the speech. also the speaker of the house announced he would invite guests and put the list out. his list includes antipoverty activists and he has two nuns joining him, members of the little sisters of the poor who are challenging the afford will care act. what message should we get from how they are using their seats? betty: you are correct these visitors have multiple purposes for being there and one is to connect the american people to the policies that are being proposed so often there is a direct connection between -- between the visitors in the gallery and the proposals the president is putting forward. they are there as important symbolic connections to the american people. they are there to help the american people think that they too could be sitting in that gallery. it could be their experience highlighted by the president. in this case the speaker of the house. has a political statement in the case of speaker ryan. he is looking for a way to change or alter or resent the affordable care act so he is using it as a public statement.

susan: this is before a joint session of congress. what is the significance and are there certain roles in play? eddie: there certainly are. we have joint sessions in joint meetings. joint meetings or when foreign speakers come to address the houses and it is an informal and unofficial meeting of congress. joint sessions is a time when both houses of congress remain in session. they remain in official legislative session and they come together to hear the president and they do it as a joint body. they are specific -- there are specific rules that go along with that, there are rules that govern how they act in joint session, and it is recorded, it is part of the official recording of congress and so it is an official act of congress, not just a symbolic act or a ceremonial act. susan: there might be several joint sessions but this one, the state of the union, has become the marquee event for the

congress. it always kicks off the new session in early january. ofre are 535 members congress. there is a limited number of seats in that chamber. how are the seats allocated? they are so coveted on a night like this. betty: they are coveted. most mirrors get one ticket in addition to a seat and that goes to a spouse or family member. there are limited seats so nobly -- probably a couple thousand people can fit into the house chamber. they can put them anywhere they can fit them. they will sit on steps, stand in the back, find every spot for people. it is a closely guarded process to keep the seats limited to members of congress and their ypecial guests and specificall designated visitors that are guests of the president, guests of the speaker, guests of the vice president, the guests of the majority leader. susan: the house is divided partisan wise, the democrats and

sit on another. is there a partisan divide, do they sit on opposite sides or is there a mixture? required toare not sit on opposite sides. they segregate themselves into party because they tend to come in and sit by their friends and their colleagues that they know best and those tend to be party members. ofically, you will see a mix both sides. you will see members of both parties sitting together. they have been a few times when specifically they have chosen to do a mix of seating so they are not divided by party. a strong party component to the way they sit in the chamber. susan: the state of the union setrally is the president's of legislative priorities. this is the final year of the obama presidency. we look back a bit over how presidents use their final year and how they set the stage. it is not likely when they use

the party that they will get their legislative agenda passed. how do presidents tend to use this final speech? betty: since franklin roosevelt's time we have only presidents.-term president obama is the fifth. during their final year, their last two years of their final faced iny have opposition congress of some kind. president obama is in good company in that way. final year in the the state of the union of the final year of to not only look at but to seek ways they can establish a legacy. they look for ways that they can prioritize the policy proposals that are most important to them, the things they want to achieve the most, and they will focus on that one or two policy proposals. is that by narrowing the scope and focusing on particular things, they can get some minor achievement even in

an election year which is a very difficult thing to do. back inet's look history and give you a glimpse of what ronald reagan had to say in 1988 as he was leaving and made his final address, final state of the union address. let's listen. president reagan: we have four basic objectives tonight. first, steps we can take to keep our economy strong and growing, to give our children a future of low inflation and full employment. second, let's check our progress and attacking social problems where important gains have been made but which still need critical attention. i mean schools that work. economic independence for the poor. restoring respect for family life and family values. our third objective tonight is global. continuing a exciting economic and democratic revolutions we have seen around the world. nationand finally, our

has remained at peace for nearly a decade and a half. as we move toward our goals of world prosperity and world freedom, we must protect that peace and deter war by making sure the next president inherits what you and i have a moral obligation to give that president. security that is unassailable and a national defense that takes full advantage of new technology and is fully funded. [applause] susan: president reagan laying out his four objectives in 1988. the white has gave some previews of what the president would say and said it would be a not traditional speech because of the fact that he was recognized his legislative agenda might not have a big chance. we were told he has been working on this speech since november with his chief speechwriter, cody keenan. 3:00 a.m. e-mails were being exchanged between the president and the speechwriter. it has gone through six drafts

area there is a parallel to ronald reagan. he has framed it in four questions. this is a capsule version. how do we give everyone in the country a fair shake? how do we make this technology that is coming so fast in our society work for us as a country? how do we make the country safer without being the world policeman? have a political system that recognizes or encourages the best of us not playing on our fears? they will be the themes the president is striking. betty: that is interesting. when you look at other two-term presidents who have been in this situation, we have eisenhower in 1960 who gave a somewhat cautionary final state of the union address. it looked back. it was looking for legacy, but it was also very much couched in the cold war era so he was securityt a time when concerns were very important. you move up to 1988, reagan's

speech was interesting because he came into the address just before the clip that we saw here tonight, he comes into the address and says, this is my final year but we are still here, we are still working, we are going to keep going and he presented his for proposals. you move to bill clinton and he gives a fairly bold proposal at the end of his state of the union address. it seems president obama is giving a mix of those things. he is recognizing there will be limits. he is recognizing the realities of an election-year environment but at the same time he is setting certain priorities and he is making sure that they will keep working toward achieving those priorities which are important to his presidency. from: we have bill clinton 2000 and his final state of the union address. a theme for him was admonishing congress not to continue standing still. let's listen in. president clinton: this congress has been standing still on most -- on some of our most pressing parties.

let's begin tonight. patik you to pass a real a --'s bill [applause] president clinton: i ask you to pass commonsense gun safety legislation. [applause] you tont clinton: i ask pass campaign finance reform. [applause] clinton: i ask you to vote up or down on judicial

nominations and other important appointees. [applause] president clinton: and again, you, i implorek you to raise the minimum wage. [applause] susan: we hear bill clinton really setting -- challenging congress on his legislative agenda. tonight, president obama has a new ingredient, he has a brand-new speaker of the house, 45-year-old that has said he wants to get things done, how does that change the dynamic? betty: it is still an unknown what is going to happen. we have the relationship between president obama and congress that has been very difficult in recent years but it has been difficult with very specific personalities, and now we have a new speaker of the house, he has an agenda of his own but he does

not have a set way of being. and so it gives president obama an opportunity to come in and take advantage of this new environment and try to find a way to work with speaker brian and move things forward. bill clinton still holds the record for giving the longest state of the union address. it was not that 2001 but 1995. 199 words. george washington has the shortest. betty: 1000 words. on average, most modern presidents have given state of the union address is at 5000 words in length. s you mentioned the opposition response. the republican party will you making formal response to the address. thatong it -- has

tradition been around? that, then he did somewhat wily leader of the senate everett dirksen, he decided that president lyndon johnson was going to go prime time, he needs to get involved. he needed to make sure that the republican voice was heard as well so he joined with gerald ford and the planned for the 1966 annual message and the state of the union message to respond and they had an event in the old senate chamber in the capital building. there was an audience there might and it was a highly publicized event and it was recorded and televised. it did not air the same night, it aired for five days later and a different times in different markets but it did get on the television and that began the opposition response. each year, a member or members of the president's opposing party have given opposition responses. susan: over the 36 years that c-span has it around and

televising these addresses they have experimented with the formats from year-to-year, some successfully and some not successfully. republicanch the response. joining us to talk about the gop responder from his post inside the capital and statuary hal l is james arkin. the republicans have chosen the ofian-american governor south carolina, nikki haley. i wanted to get some history. in 1985, bill clinton was chosen to give the opposition response to president reagan's state of the union address. he went on to run successfully for president of the united states. have all the people selected had good fortunes after their selection for this role? james: not quite. it is a mixed bag when you look at the official republican response. when you look at the first response in 2009 was louisiana

governor bobby jindal. that response was widely panned. he gave a very rushed and quick performance and most people thought he did not do very well. the new look at in 2011, paul ryan gave the response. he talked about budget priorities and talk about saving money and lowering the debt and , 2012, and the next year he was the vice presidential nominee and now ryan is the speaker of the house and then you look at 2013, marco rubio had his famous water bottle moment where he reached for his and it-- water bottle showed up on social media but he is now one of the leading candidates for president and the republican party. there is an opportunity for the this to go very wrong for the people giving the response but you have seen some of the people come through that and really rise up in the ranks of the party. susan: what can you tell our audience about nikki haley's biography and can you speculate to why she was chosen? she started out in the state house in 2000 and became

the governor in 2010 and she represents almost exact he what the republican party has looked for any response during the obama administration. she is young, she is a minority, she is a woman, and an indian american, the first woman and first minority governor of south carolina. they look for both that and also for someone who is an up and,, a rising star within the party. it is an opportunity to highly the bench, to show off people who might not be in the prime time in front of most americans, and she really represents that. susan: she released from her office a few of the themes that she will be striking. many of them are traditional republican themes of opportunity, the debt, economics, but she is going to talk about the fact that she is a child of immigrants. we have a big immigration debate going on this -- in this country. what are the politics for her in that instance? james: if you look at the excerpts of her speech that have been released she talks about

opportunity and talks about people who want to live by american values in you to come to america and work hard. very strict a rebuttal of donald trump and some of the policies am a immigration policies that he has been talking about. she does not mention him by name but she is planning to say according to these absurd -- exits, not following the angriest voices in america in times of concern. that is a really -- seen as a direct rebuttal to some of these immigration policies coming from him. pushspeech is trying to the republican party to open itself of -- up a little bit and start a bigger tent. ofan: how can she avoid some the pitfalls of the people you described who did not fare so well? james: paul ryan offered her specific avoid -- advice, a cough drop in the back of her mouth which would have saved

marco rubio when he had to reach for water. that was one piece of advice. about talking about the overall beliefs of the republican party and setting opposition to what the president is going to say and not overreaching. it is very difficult, you're giving a short 10 minute speech in front of a camera and the president is giving a link the hour plus long speech in front of 500 plus lawmakers and millions of tv viewers. it is difficult to counter the president's message. you cannot overreach but she has to be able to talk about her vision and the republican vision in this election year. susan: we will see how she does somewhere around 10:00 eastern. you are in statuary hall in the capital. -- capitol. that is quite a busy scene. i would describe this is the calm before the storm. a lot of reporters and people waiting and as soon as the

president finishes his beach, lawmakers are going to leave the house side and come through statuary hall which is right in andcenter of the capitol reporters are going to scramble and get people talking, getting reaction to the president's speech ended becomes a madhouse. -- and it becomes a madhouse. it is called but it will not stay there for long. susan: thank you for being there in the calm before the storm and the information on state of the union night. on c-span2, we will have complete coverage of many of those interviews that members give to reporters. that is very different experience and we will have phone lines open and taking your tweets and facebook comments. we'll be showing clips from the hearh but over on c-span2, what members of congress have to say about the president's speech after he has given it. let me ask you a little bit about another dynamic tonight. it is a presidential campaign year and there are four current

u.s. senators that are still in the race, one democrat, three republicans. all of them except for ted cruz will be in the chamber tonight. how does that change the dynamic and what is it like for the people who want that person's job to be sitting there as he is giving that speech? be an interesting experience. it is not unusual to have senators running for president so that happens frequently and they are often in the unit -- in the audience for that state of the union address. we had senators have been very high-profile and it must be a tension and envy. they are looking at that and seeing what might be for themselves but at the same time they are looking at it and realizing it is a tremendously big job and it is a tremendously egg responsibility that they may be taking on. i would remember -- i would imagine they have mixed feelings sitting there and watching the process. minutes pasti-fi the hour. we will be getting some pictures

inside the capitol. attached totocol this. our next guest has been part of the article and ritual. he had a very visible role for 17 years. his name is bill livingood. >> mr. speaker, the president of the united states are. susan: for 12 years as the house sergeant at arms, he is on the phone with us right now. what is that moment like? livingood: it is an exciting moment. you realize that you are theking or introducing president to the speaker and to

the congress. it is an honor. exhilaration, pride, and humbleness goes through me when i did that. susan: it is a simple line but did you find yourself rehearsing before the main event? year forehearsed every the 17 years i did that. at the beginning, obviously, i rehearsed quite it more. then he got less and less, -- it got less and less. the first to a three times, i was very apprehensive. i was scared to death in a way. afraid that i might flub the line or something might occur to have me forget what i was supposed to say. susan: i you never did over the years. we are talking to bill living good. we have live pictures from inside the united states senate chamber and we will look at that as we are talking to bill arms.ood, the sergeant at

the job is a very big one, responsible for security on the protocol, and the like. over the years, how did that set of responsibilities grow as the nation became more complex and the security challenges increased? bill: it grew and grew. i think that speaker gingrich, he is a visionary and i think he had that in mind when they necided to hire strictly a outside consultant, a headhunting firm. he wanted a non-political, non- andisan, senior executive probably he was suggesting either the secret service or the fbi. and i was fortunate enough to be one that was interviewed for that position. also shows the emphasis on security that is so much on the minds of everyone complexin the capitol

these days. what are the challenges in the era of terrorism on a night like this? capitol itself there is a lot of protection, a lot of it you do not see and a lot of it is handled very quietly. on a night like tonight when you have the leaders of the free world in one location, all but a you just think, oh, my gosh, this is an awesome responsibility that we start training and practicing and planning way back in september, october. and it is atime joint effort with so many agencies, it is not just the capitol police, not just the secret service and the fbi. with military, all the medical ugems, we just have a huge, h

practices, and then we put this into operation. i was so proud to be a member of that team. susan: one of the other responsibilities is protocol and on a night like this, there are lots of rules so that people do not leave the evening with their noses out of joint about how they were treated during the event. we have the diplomatic corps, the supreme court as you mentioned,he joint chiefs of staff are there, members of the cabinet. how are all those people handled thede the capitol, how does capitol respond to their needs and give them places to wait before the speech? office plans in conjunction with the senate, sergeant at arms, we play the times for arrival for each of

those parties you mentioned. what time the joint chiefs will arrive, what time the cabinet arrives, and then we have people from our office made them and they take each group separately, as a group, the supreme court comes in the senate side, the rest come in the house side. we have a room set aside for in thatre we put them room until it is time to take them to the second floor, to the floor, to the house chamber. it works out. you think -- there is a lot of people -- but it works out very well. some of my team from the house sergeant at arms office, ted daniels plans all this and stephan does the supreme court, and i have got others doing various other things, or they did, i did then and now, paul urban does.

kathleen joyce does the announcements of not the president but the others, the cabinet, the supreme court, the senate, and the joint chiefs of staff. susan: i can tell from your voice that there is a bit of nostalgia even though it has been three plus years since you left the position of watching it from far away on a night like this. thank you so much for helping us understand all that goes into running on the state of the union, bill livingood. do -- tois an honor to be talking to you all tonight. and you're right, and loved every minute of it. susan: we can certainly tell. thank you so much for your information. we are here with the historian of the u.s. senate and we just watched the senators rather in their chamber. talk us through how that procession, how they gather and how the procession makes their way across the capitol and what the symbolism is of that. they: the first gather in

senate chamber and they are called into session. it is as i mentioned before, it is an official session of the senate. they convene a session, they yet business out of the way, sometimes there is minor business to be done and then they essentially gavel and say housel now proceed to the chamber and they come together, they proceed across the capital building from down the hallway through the rotunda, through the statuary health -- hall and the house chamber. that is where they will gather and proceeded to the house chamber. they do it as a block. they do it as a group. so it is symbolically very much the image of the senate coming to meet with the house in the house chamber. susan: how do they pair up? betty: it is somewhat up to them. the leadership of the senate is a part of the escort team that brings the president so you will see the majority leader, the

minority leader, and the whips and the people that will be to come in with the president as part of the official escort process. the rest of the senate can parrot up the way they want to. they often para by state pairs. you will see the junior and senior senator from states to meet together. sometimes not everyone of the senators will be there and you will see friends come together but it varies from year to year. i think the most often peering you are likely to see is by state. iring you are likely to see is by state. crews all the television are waiting for post-reaction there. i wonder if you can tell us about the history of that room because it is quite a historic run. -- historic one. betty: it is one of the old chambers. statuary hall was for much of the 19th century the legislative chase -- chamber of the house of representatives.

when the house building opened up that was its legislative chamber and it remained there until the 1850's so the house moved to its current legislative chamber in 1857. after that, the room was used for a variety of purposes during the civil war. they decided to curate a national statuary hall and they invited each of the states to contribute two statues to the collection, two statues of their most illustrious citizens. they started to arrive, a lot of the early ones were civil war theres and the completed 100th statue 10 years ago so it has been a long process. today it is mostly a ceremonial space and it holds about 40 or 50 of the original statues. saying there senators walk across the hall and we are seeing their final destination which is the house chamber. walk us through what is happening. i see the vice president leading the way. why is he leading the way,

explain that. betty: the vice president is there not as the vice president. he is there is the president of the senate. the vice president is the constitutional resigning officer of the senate and he is the the senate.r of he is a legislative officer paid by the senate, not by the executive branch and so he is there as a legislative officer. so when they begin the speech and the president will often say thank you, mr. speaker, thank you, mr. vice president but he should say i'm a thank you mr. speaker, thank you vice president. mr. biden is there as vice president of the senate. susan: does he have a working office in the capitol building? betty: he does. the vice president has had his own office in the capitol of the senate chamber and he has a working office in the dirksen office building as well and he has a small staff that is always for the in the capitol

vice president. we can see senators making their way down the main aisle of the house of representatives. president's speech begins at half an hour. they have to -- you have to tell about the ritual of getting ifts on the aisle, because you watch this network and you know the members of the house, you will see some very familiar faces. always getting this prime seats. fory: it is like waiting "star wars" to open, the people who lined up early and they will start sticking out spaces in the house chamber and sometimes they will send staff over, sometimes they will send interns over. they will hold spaces in the chamber so they can have an isle seat and that is because when the senate comes in, when the cabinet members come in, when the justices of the supreme

a frontme in, they have row seat. when the president comes in they are there to shake his hand, to get his autograph. it is part of the ritualistic aspect of the night. susan: i read a story about congressman eliot engel who has been a member of the house for a very long time and he is one of camper-outers. at 8:30 a.m.rives on state of the union nights and he works with his ipad and his cell phone from inside the chamber all day. he says it is the most remarked event of the year frame with his constituents. year with his can t constituents. it is not just president obama's last state of the union address. it is also president vice -- it is also vice president biden's

state of the union address. lots of nostalgia for him tonight. he was the senator for many years, he left the senate before he went to the vice presidency. he was very much a creature of congress all those years. he is a very respected figure in the senate. as vice president he has played a very active role as the presiding officer of the senate. he has been there frequently. he is in his office a lot. he has been a very visible vice president in the last few years eerie at since he has decided it to run for the presidency looks like he is headed toward some sort of retirement. i am sure it is a time of bittersweet feelings for him. susan: one other part of this evening we should talk about before we let people watch what is happening in the chamber, the cabinet will be there but it has always been a tradition that there is one missing cabinet member. why's that? betty: because of the line of succession to the presidency dating back to the 1940's.

we have had three presidential succession act and the most recent was 1947 and that is what set the current line of succession which puts the cabinet members behind the vice president. in the case of some sort of emergency and if there is some disaster should happen at the capitol, they want to shoot -- they want to make sure we have some continuity of government. they also keep a few members of the house and senate out for the same purpose. susan: there is always some speculation as to who will be missing. we are told it is secretary jeh johnson who will not be there tonight, who will be in an undisclosed location watching the speech and therefore that line of succession. you see the speaker of the house, paul ryan and the president pro tem of the senate, vice president biden greeting each other. what is the place where they said? ofty: right behind the dais the house chamber, that is the spot, where the

speaker presides when he is in the chamber and they divide the chamber into two. you have the speaker on the right-hand side and the vice president, the president of the senate will be on the left-hand side. susan: we're going to say goodbye to you shortly so people can do what c-span offers which is watch without a lot of commentary. i know you spent a lot of time preparing for this conversation. is there one good state of the union story that you want to tell people about wester? betty: the state of the union address is really a wonderful celebration of our american democratic system. it is a time when our three branches of government come together. they come together in a very visible way, and it shows that our separation of powers can be set aside in order for one very evenul night and the state of the union gives us that national ritual every single year. she has been in the

senate historian's office since 1998 and a graduate, her degree from the university of california at berkeley and she --santa barbara. providingou for your expertise. betty: thank you. it has been a pleasure. susan: we will watch as the various constituencies arrive. the supreme court, the members of the cabinet, etc. the president has not yet left to make his trip down pennsylvania avenue. you will see that all here without commentary and then after the speech is over, live coverage of nikki haley's state of the union response, the south carolina governor and we will spend until 11 p.m. eastern time taking your calls and reaction

>> could do in the community want party to want president obama's final state of the union address. >> on the next war's and the journal, your reaction to president obama's final state of union address. at 7:00 a.m. eastern on c-span. you can join the conversation and comment on facebook and twitter. >> president obama traveled to the university of nebraska in omaha today for a speech on economic opportunity. we will have live coverage at 5:00 p.m. eastern here on c-span. >> students run the country are working on c-span student cam documentary contest. telling us the issues they want the president to candidates to discuss the social media we are

following students as they produce video, here is a tweet a canterbury-- another forted -- maryland, casey krause principal at eastern middle school tweeted also, illinois representative tweeted. there is $100,000 in prizes with a grand prize of $5,000. the deadline is generally 20th, 2016. the winners will be announced in ninth. more information, visit our website. [captioning performed by the national captioning institute, which is responsible for its caption content and accuracy. visit ncicap.org] [captions copyright national cable satellite corp. 2016] >> president obama final state of the union address to talk about the goals he has for the nation through and beyond his presidency. in this hour-long speech he

highlighted economic stability, innovation, and scientific research and national security. and changing the tone of american politics. >> mr. speaker, the president of the united states. [applause] >> happy new year. good to see you. [applause] [indiscernible conversation]

[applause] happy new year. pres. obama: thank you. thank you. happy new year! [applause] i believe these are for you. [applause]

[applause] [applause]

pres. obama: thank you. thank you. thank you so much. i believe these are for you. all right. let's bring this to order here. >> members of congress, i have a high privilege and the distinct honor of presenting to you the president of the united states. [applause]

pres. obama: thank you. thank you. thank you so much. thank you. mr. speaker, mr. vice president, members of congress, my fellow americans -- tonight marks the eighth year i've come here to report on the state of the union. and for this final one, i'm going to try to make it a little shorter. [applause] pres. obama: i know some of you are antsy to get back to iowa. [laughter] [applause] pres. obama: i have been there. i will be shaking hands after if

you want some tips. i understand that because it's an election season, expectations for what we'll achieve this year are low. but, mr. speaker, i appreciate the constructive approach you and the other leaders took at the end of last year to pass a budget and make tax cuts permanent for working families. so i hope we can work together this year on bipartisan priorities like criminal justice reform, and helping people who are battling prescription drug abuse and heroin abuse. [applause] who knows? we just might surprise the cynics again. but tonight, i want to go easy on the traditional list of proposals for the year ahead.

don't worry, i've got plenty, from helping students learn to write computer code to personalizing medical treatments for patients. and i'll keep pushing for progress on the work that still needs to be done. fixing a broken immigration system. [applause] pres. obama: protecting our kids from gun violence. equal pay for equal work, paid leave, raising the minimum wage. [applause] all these things still matter to hardworking families; they are still the right thing to do; and i won't let up until they get done. but for my final address to this chamber, i don't want to talk just about the next year. i want to focus on the next five years, ten years, and beyond.

i want to focus on our future. we live in a time of extraordinary change, change that's reshaping the way we live, the way we work, our planet, and our place in the world. it's change that promises amazing medical breakthroughs, but also economic disruptions that strain working families. it promises education for girls in the most remote villages, but also connects terrorists plotting an ocean away. it's change that can broaden opportunity, or widen inequality.

and whether we like it or not, the pace of this change will only accelerate. america has been through big changes before. wars and depression, the influx of new immigrants, workers fighting for a fair deal, and movements to expand civil rights. each time, there have been those who told us to fear the future, who claimed we could slam the brakes on change, promising to restore past glory if we just got some group or idea that was threatening america under control. and each time, we overcame those fears. we did not, in the words of lincoln, "adhere to the dogmas of the quiet past." instead, we thought anew, and acted anew. we made change work for us, always extending america's promise outward, to the next frontier, to more and more people. and because we did, because we saw opportunity where others saw peril, we emerged stronger and better than before.

what was true then can be true now. our unique strengths as a nation -- our optimism and work ethic, our spirit of discovery, our diversity, our commitment to the rule of law, these things give us everything we need to ensure prosperity and security for generations to come. in fact, it's that spirit that we have made progress these past seven years. that is how we recovered from the worst economic crisis in generations.

[applause] that is how we reformed our health care system, and reinvented our energy sector. [applause] that is how we delivered more care and benefits to our troops coming home at our veterans. -- home and our veterans. [applause] that is how we secured the freedom in every state to marry the person we love. [applause] but such progress is not inevitable.

it is the result of choices we make, together. and we face such choices right now. will we respond to the changes of our time with fear, turning inward as a nation, and turning against each other as a people? or will we face the future with confidence in who we are, what we stand for, and the incredible things we can do together? so let's talk about the future, and four big questions that we as a country have to answer, regardless of who the next president is, or who controls

the next congress. first, how do we give everyone a fair shot at opportunity and security in this new economy? [applause] second, how do we make technology work for us, and not against us, especially when it comes to solving urgent challenges like climate change? [applause] third, how do we keep america safe and lead the world without becoming its policeman? [applause] finally, how can we make our politics reflect what's best in us, and not what's worst? [applause]

let me start with the economy and a basic fact. the united states of america, right now, has the strongest, most durable economy in the world. [applause] we're in the middle of the longest streak of private-sector job creation in history. more than 14 million new jobs, the strongest two years of job growth since the 1990's, an unemployment rate cut in half. our auto industry just had its best year ever. [applause]

that is just part of a manufacturing surge which has created nearly 900,000 new jobs in the past six years. and we've done all this while cutting our deficits by almost three-quarters. [applause] anyone claiming that america's economy is in decline is peddling fiction. [applause] what is true, and the reason that a lot of americans feel anxious, is that the economy has been changing in profound ways, changes that started long before the great recession hit and changes that happened -- changes that haven't let up. today, technology doesn't just replace jobs on the assembly

line, but any job where work can be automated. companies in a global economy can locate anywhere, and face tougher competition. as a result, workers have less leverage for a raise. companies have less loyalty to their communities. and more and more wealth and income is concentrated at the very top. all these trends have squeezed workers, even when they have jobs, even when the economy is growing. it's made it harder for a hardworking family to pull itself out of poverty, harder for young people to start on their careers, and tougher for workers to retire when they want to. and although none of these trends are unique to america, they do offend our uniquely american belief that everybody

who works hard should get a fair shot. for the past seven years, our goal has been a growing economy that works better for everybody. we've made progress. but we need to make more. and despite all the political arguments we've had these past few years, there are some areas where americans broadly agree. we agree that real opportunity requires every american to get the education and training they need to land a good-paying job. the bipartisan reform of no child left behind was an important start, and together, we've increased early childhood education, lifted high school graduation rates to new highs, and boosted graduates in fields like engineering. in the coming years, we should

build on that progress, by providing pre-k for all, and offering every student -- [applause] pres. obama: offering every student the hands-on computer science and math classes that make them job-ready on day one, and we should recruit and support more great teachers for our kids. [applause] and we have to make college affordable for every american. [applause] no hardworking student should be stuck in the red. we've already reduced student loan payments to 10% of a

borrower's income. now, we've actually got to cut the cost of college. [applause] providing two years of community college at no cost for every responsible student is one of the best ways to do that, and i'm going to keep fighting to get that started this year. it is the right thing to do. [applause] but, a great education isn't all we need in this new economy. we also need benefits and protections that provide a basic measure of security. it is not too much of a stretch to say that some of the only people in america who are going to work the same job, in the same place, with a health and retirement package, for 30 years, are sitting in this chamber. [laughter and murmuring]

pres. obama: for everyone else, especially folks in their forties and fifties, saving for retirement or bouncing back from job loss has gotten a lot tougher. americans understand that at some point in their careers, in this new economy, they may have to retool and retrain. but they shouldn't lose what they've already worked so hard to build in the process. that's why social security and medicare are more important than ever. we shouldn't weaken them, we should strengthen them. [applause] and for americans short of retirement, basic benefits should be just as mobile as everything else is today.

that's what the affordable care act is all about. it's about filling the gaps in employer-based care so that when we lose a job, or go back to school, or start that new business, we'll still have coverage. nearly eighteen million have gained coverage so far. and, in the process -- [applause] pres. obama: -- in the process, health care inflation has slowed. and our businesses have created jobs every single month since it became law. now, i'm guessing we won't agree on health care anytime soon. [laughter]

[applause]] obama: no left her there, i'm guessing. laughter there, i am guessing. but there should be other ways both parties can improve economic security. say a hardworking american loses his job -- we shouldn't just make sure he can get unemployment insurance; we should make sure that program encourages him to retrain for a business that's ready to hire him. if that new job doesn't pay as much, there should be a system of wage insurance in place so that he can still pay his bills. and even if he's going from job to job, he should still be able to save for retirement and take his savings with him. that's the way we make the new economy work better for everyone. i also know speaker ryan has talked about his interest in tackling poverty. america is about giving everybody willing to work a hand up, and i'd welcome a serious discussion about strategies we can all support, like expanding tax cuts for low-income workers

who do not have children. [applause] president obama: but there are areas where it's been more difficult to find agreement over the last seven years -- namely what role the government should play in making sure the system's not rigged in favor of the wealthiest and biggest corporations. [applause]] and here, the american people have a choice to make. i believe a thriving private sector is the lifeblood of our economy. i think there are outdated regulations that need to be changed, and there's red tape that needs to be cut. [applause] obama: there you go.

yeah. [applause] obama: but after years of record corporate profits, working families won't get more opportunity or bigger paychecks just by letting big banks or big oil or hedge funds make their own rules at the expense of everyone else; or by allowing attacks on collective bargaining to go unanswered. food stamp recipients didn't cause the financial crisis; --

[applause] -- recklessness on wall street did. immigrants aren't the reason wages haven't gone up enough; those decisions are made in the boardrooms that too often put quarterly earnings over long-term returns. it's sure not the average family watching tonight that avoids paying taxes through offshore accounts. [applause]] president obama: the point is, i believe in this new economy, workers and start--ups and small businesses need more of a voice, not less. the rules should work for them. and i am not alone in this. this year i plan to lift up the many businesses who've figured out that doing right by their workers and customers and communities ends up being good for their shareholders, their customers, and their communities, so that we can

spread those best practices across america as part of a brighter future. in fact, it turns out many of our best corporate citizens are also our most creative. this brings me to the second big question we have to answer as a country: how do we reignite that spirit of innovation to meet our biggest challenges? sixty years ago, when the russians beat us into space, we didn't deny sputnik was up there. [crowd murmuring] pres. obama: we didn't argue about the science, or shrink our research and development budget. we built a space program almost overnight, and twelve years later, we were walking on the moon. ] pplause

president obama: that spirit of discovery is in our dna. edison and theas wright brothers and george washington carver. america is grace hopper and katherine johnson and sally ride. america is every immigrant and entrepreneur from boston to austin to silicon valley racing to shape a better world. that is to we are. yearsver the past seven we've nurtured that spirit. , we've protected an open internet, and taken bold new steps to get more students and low-income americans online. next-generation

manufacturing hubs, and online tools that give an entrepreneur everything he or she needs to start a business in a single day. but we can do so much more. last year, vice president biden said that with a new moonshot, america can cure cancer. last month, he worked with this congress to give scientists at the national institutes of health the strongest resources they've had in over a decade. [applause]] pres. obama: now -- [applause] so, tonight,ma: i'm announcing a new national effort to get it done. and because he's gone to the mat for all of us, on so many issues over the past forty years, i'm putting joe in charge of mission

control. for the loved ones we've all lost, for the family we can still save, let's make america the country that cures cancer once and for all. would you say to that? that do you say -- what do you say to that? applause]n obama: medical research is critical. we need the same level of commitment when it comes to developing clean energy sources. look, if anybody still wants to dispute the science around climate change, have at it. you'll be pretty lonely, because you'll be debating our military, most of america's business leaders, the majority of the american people, almost the entire scientific community, and 200 nations around the world who agree it's a problem and intend to solve it.

[applause] obama: but even if the planet wasn't at stake; even if 2014 wasn't the warmest year on record -- until 2015 turned out even hotter -- why would we want to pass up the chance for american businesses to produce and sell the energy of the future? [applause] pres. obama: listen -- seven years ago, we made the single biggest investment in clean energy in our history. here are the results. in fields from iowa to texas, wind power is now cheaper than dirtier, conventional power. on rooftops from arizona to new

york, solar is saving americans tens of millions of dollars a year on their energy bills, and employs more americans than coal -- in jobs that pay better than average. we're taking steps to give homeowners the freedom to generate and store their own energy -- something by the way that environmentalists and tea partiers have teamed up to support. and meanwhile, we've cut our imports of foreign oil by nearly sixty percent, and cut carbon pollution more than any other country on earth. [applause] pres. obama: gas under two bucks a gallon ain't bad, either.

[laughter] pres. obama: now we've got to accelerate the transition away from dirty energy. rather than subsidize the past, we should invest in the future -- especially in communities that rely on fossil fuels. the do them no favor when we do not show them where it the trends are going. that's why i'm going to push to change the way we manage our oil and coal resources, so that they better reflect the costs they impose on taxpayers and our planet. that way, we put money back into those communities and put tens of thousands of americans to work building a 21st century transportation system. [applause] obama: now -- none of this will happen overnight, and yes, there are plenty of entrenched interests who want to protect the status quo.

but the jobs we'll create, the money we'll save, and the planet we'll preserve -- that's the kind of future our kids and grandkids deserve. and it is within our grasp. and, climate change is just one of many issues where our security is linked to the rest of the world. and that's why the third big question that we have to answer together is how to keep america safe and strong without either isolating ourselves or trying to nation-build everywhere there's a problem. i told you earlier all the talk of america's economic decline is political hot air. well, so is all the rhetoric you hear about our enemies getting stronger and america getting weaker. let me tell you something, the united states of america is the most powerful nation on earth.

[cheers and applause] period. period. it's not even close. it's not even close. it's not even close. we spend more on our military than the next eight nations combined. our troops are the finest fighting force in the history of the world. [applause] no nation dares to attack us or our allies because they know that's the path to ruin. surveys show our standing around the world is higher than when i

was elected to this office, and when it comes to every important international issue, people of the world do not look to beijing or moscow to lead -- they call us. [applause] -- i think it is useful to level the set here. because when we do not, we do not make good decisions. as someone who begins every day with an intelligence briefing, i know this is a dangerous time. but that's not because of some looming superpower out there in it is certainly not because of diminished of american strength. in today's world, we're threatened less by evil empires and more by failing states.

the middle east is going through a transformation that will play out for a generation, rooted in conflicts that date back millennia. economic headwinds blow from a chinese economy in transition. even as their economies severely contracts, russia is pouring resources to prop up ukraine and syria -- states they see slipping away from their orbit. and the international system we built after world war ii is now struggling to keep pace with this new reality. it's up to us to help remake that system. and to do that well, it means

that we have got to set priorities. priority number one is protecting the american people and going after terrorist networks. [applause] pres. obama: both al qaeda and now isil pose a direct threat to our people, because in today's world, even a handful of terrorists who place no value on human life, including their own, can do a lot of damage. they use the internet to poison the minds of individuals inside -- their actions undermine a and it destabilize our allies. out.ve to take them but as we focus on destroying

that over-the-top claims this is world war iii just play into their hands. masses of fighters on the back of pickup trucks and twisted souls plotting in apartments or garages pose an enormous danger to civilians and must be stopped. but they do not threaten our national existence. isil wants toory tell, that is the kind of propaganda they use to recruit. need to build them up to show that we are serious. and we sure do not need to push away vital allies in this fight by echoing the lie that isil is representative of one of the world's largest religions. [applause]

pres. obama: we just need to call them what they are -- killers and fanatics who have to be rooted out, hunted down, and destroyed. [applause] obama: and that's exactly what we are doing. for more than a year, america has led a coalition of more than 60 countries to cut off isil's financing, disrupt their plots, stop the flow of terrorist fighters, and stamp out their vicious ideology. with nearly 10,000 air strikes, we are taking out their leadership, their oil, their training camps, and their weapons. we are training, arming, and supporting forces who are steadily reclaiming territory in iraq and syria.

if this congress is serious about winning this war, and wants to send a message to our troops and the world, you should finally authorize the use of military force against isil. take a vote. [applause] pres. obama: take a vote. but the american people should know that with or without congressional action, isil will learn the same lessons as terrorists before them. if you doubt america's commitment -- or mine -- to see that justice is done, ask osama bin laden. [cheers and applause] leader ofa: ask the al qaeda in yemen, who was taken out last year, or the perpetrator of the benghazi attacks, who sits in a prison cell.

when you come after americans, we go after you. and it may take time, but we , have long memories, and our reach has no limit. [applause] pres. obama: our foreign policy must be focused on the threat from isil and al qaeda, but it can't stop there. for even without isil, even without al qaeda instability will continue for , decades in many parts of the world -- in the middle east, in afghanistan and parts of pakistan, in parts of central america, africa and asia. some of these places may become safe havens for new terrorist fallrk, others will just

victim to ethnic conflict, or famine, feeding the next wave of refugees. the world will look to us to help solve these problems, and our answer needs to be more than tough talk or calls to carpet bomb civilians. that may work as a tv sound bite, but it doesn't pass muster on the world stage. we also can't try to take over and rebuild every country that falls into crisis. even if it is done with the best of intentions. that is not leadership. for quagmire,pe spilling american blood and treasure that ultimately weakens us. it's the lesson of vietnam, of iraq -- and we should have learned it by now.

[applause] pres. obama: fortunately, there's a smarter approach, a patient and disciplined strategy that uses every element of our national power. it says america will always act, alone if necessary, to protect our people and our allies; but on issues of global concern, we will mobilize the world to work with us, and make sure other countries pull their own weight. that's our approach to conflicts like syria, where we're partnering with local forces and leading international efforts to help that broken society pursue a lasting peace. that's why we built a global coalition, with sanctions and principled diplomacy, to prevent

a nuclear-armed iran. as we speak, iran has rolled back its nuclear program, shipped out its uranium stockpile, and the world has avoided another war. [applause] obama: that's how we stopped the spread of ebola in west africa. [applause] pres. obama: our military, our doctors, and our development workers set up the platform that allowed other countries to join us in stamping out that epidemic. hundreds of thousands, maybe a couple million lives were saved. that's how we forged a trans-pacific partnership to open markets, protect workers and the environment, and advance american leadership in asia. it cuts 18,000 taxes on products

made in america, and supports more good jobs here in america. with tpp, china doesn't set the rules in that region, we do. you want to show our strength in this century? approve this agreement. give us the tools to enforce it. it is the right thing to do. [applause] obama: let me give you another example. fifty years of isolating cuba had failed to promote democracy, it set us back in latin america. that's why we restored diplomatic relations, opened the door to travel and commerce, and positioned ourselves to improve the lives of the cuban people. [applause] if you want to, consolidate our leadership and credibility in the hemisphere? recognize that the cold war is over.

lift the embargo. [applause] the point is, century is not a choice between ignoring the rest of the world -- except when we kill terrorists; or occupying and rebuilding whatever society is unraveling. leadership means a wise application of military power, and rallying the world behind causes that are right. it means seeing our foreign assistance as part of our national security, not charity. when we lead nearly 200 nations to the most ambitious agreement in history to fight climate change -- that helps vulnerable countries, but it also protects our kids. when we help ukraine defend its democracy, or colombia resolve a

decade-long war, that strengthens the international order we depend upon. when we help african countries feed their people and care for the sick -- [applause] -- that prevents the next pandemic from reaching our shores. right now, we are on track to end the scourge of hiv/aids, and we have the capacity to accomplish the same thing with malaria -- something i'll be pushing this congress to fund this year. [applause] pres. obama: that is the american strength. that is american leadership. and, that kind of leadership depends upon the power of our example. that is why i will keep working to shut down the prison at guantanamo.

it is expensive, it is unnecessary, and it only serves as a recruitment brochure for our enemies. there is a better way. and that is why we need to s, any any politic protects that targets people because of race or religion. let me tell you this. [applause] pres. obama: this is not a matter of political correctness. it is a matter of understanding just what it is that makes us strong. not just respects us us our arsenal, it respects

for our diversity and our openness and the way we respect every faith. his holiness, pope francis, told this body from the very spot i stand tonight that "to imitate the hatred and violence of tyrants and murderers is the best way to take their place." when politicians insult muslims, weather abroad or our fellow citizens when a mosque is , vandalized, or a kid bullied, called names, that doesn't make us safer. that is not telling it like it is. it's just wrong. it diminishes us in the eyes of the world. [applause]

obama: it makes it harder to achieve our goals. it betrays who we are as a country. [applause] pres. obama: "we the people." our constitution begins with those three simple words, words we've come to recognize mean all the people, not just some. words that insist we rise and fall together. that's how we might perfect our union. and that brings me to the fourth, and maybe the most important thing i want to say tonight.

the future we want, all of us want opportunity and security , for our families; a rising standard of living and a sustainable, peaceful planet for our kids -- all that is within our reach. but it will only happen if we work together. it will only happen if we can have rational, constructive debates. it will only happen if we fix our politics. a better politics doesn't mean we have to agree on everything. this is a big country, with different regions and attitudes and interests. that's one of our strengths, too. our founders distributed power between states and branches of government, and expected us to argue, just as they did, over the size and shape of

government, over commerce and foreign relations, over the meaning of liberty and the imperatives of security. but democracy does require basic bonds of trust between its citizens. it doesn't work if we think the people who disagree with us are all motivated by malice, or that our political opponents are unpatriotic. or trying to weaken america. democracy grinds to a halt without a willingness to compromise. or when even basic facts are contested, and we listen only to those who agree with us. our public life withers when only the most extreme voices get

all of the attention. and most of all, democracy breaks down when the average person feels their voice doesn't matter. that the system is rigged in favor of the rich or the powerful or some special interest. too many americans feel that way right now. it's one of the few regrets of my presidency -- that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better. i have no doubt a president with the gifts of lincoln or roosevelt might have better bridged the divide, and i guarantee i'll keep trying to be better so long as i hold this office. but, my fellow americans, this cannot be my task -- or any president's -- alone. there are a whole lot of folks in this chamber, andoo