doris kearns goodwin: it is human nature to try to tell two. to tell about the accomplishments and i think he for the bat the strengths of america so it wasn't i did this but americans have done this. all the combatants got in there. the human desire is to somehow leave the presidency in the hands of someone who is going to carry out the things that you care about. mentioning things that were really designed against donald trump or ted cruz. talking about muslims and that will make us safer. america is not in decline. the most interesting part to me was the part at the end where he had said it would be somewhat different. that is where changed into something else. it reminded me of george washington's farewell address. when he gave his final address. he talked about party spirit and the worry about faction and the worry about party mischief. and the dangers of what happen if the country started splitting along geographic lines. that last part where he talked about the system itself is in trouble. not only do we have to change congressional dist

from boston, doris kearns goodwin, she is a presidential historian and author. with me, jon meacham, author and historian. i am pleased to have all of them as we talk about this the last state of the union by president obama, in many ways a look to the future but also, surprisingly, he talked about some of the themes he has been talking about since 2008. jon meacham, your reaction. >> i thought it was his case for his presidency. it was sort of a template, i think, for the memoir. >> rose: from healthcare to iran. >> from healthcare to his view of terrorism as an important but not existential threat. you could almost feel the right wing twittering as he said that. and the big think at the end about politics, which is where he began, when you think about it, in 2004. >> rose: and acknowledging perhaps other presidents like roosevelt or lincoln might have been able to -- >> who had their problems with partisanship, let the record be clear. but in the sense, the tone was also combative. when he goes to that chamber, it brings out something and you can feel the iowa