. >> jon meacham? >> one reason he told stories is because he cannot get anything past. >> it was the first time he has faced a congress controlled by the republicans. >> most in the house since hoover. much more like the first bush than anybody. there are two visions of the presidency. one, a communicator in chief. he very much played that role. an interesting conversation about a lot of the issues that matter most to people. then there is the legislator in chief which is going to be difficult. he spoke incredibly well. the question is how much rhetoric becomes action. >> walter? >> he confidently captured the historic narrative. it was a clear and compelling narrative which we have come out of the devastating greatly stress and -- great recession and a great way, but it has mainly benefited the top earners. you have to help the middle class and we all have to share any prosperity. it was very historic. you can go back to what doris kearns goodwin wrote about a century ago, when went from agricultural

with me is al huntqnews and jon meacham author and historian. joining is with all due respect john -- i'm pleased to have all of them here. take a look at the assessment of this state of the union and what it says about what the president calls the final quarter of his presidency. and i begin with al hunt reaction to this state of the unit and what it said and what it means. >> charlie, thisweeks ago who suffered a disastrous electoral defeat. he's a lame duck president and terrible cycle yet tonight i think he gave one of the best speeches of his president z i thought he was compelling, he was appropriately assertive he was confident. he didn't give a laundry list of 28 different programs. but i think he struck a good balance when you know, a populist rhetoric that is in tune with the times as opposed to maybe five or ten years ago. ten years ago at least. and also stressed values and i thought he did it remarkably, it was remarkably effective. much more than i expected. >> rose: even if his intent to get things done. >> he won't get much thing