WASHINGTON -- For his final State of the Union address President Barack Obama revisited a familiar topic: change.
"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," the president said.
"It's change that promises amazing medical breakthroughs, but also economic disruptions that strain working families," he continued. "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," the president remarked.
It's a return to the vernacular that won him the Oval Office in 2008.
A Burgeoning Economy?
Highlighting the changes that have come through his administration both fiscally and socially, the president pointed out what he described as an emergence from "the worst economic crisis in years."
"Anyone claiming that America's economy is in decline is peddling fiction," Obama said. "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 haven't let up."
Watch President Obama's full State of the Union address below:
"Today, technology doesn't just replace jobs on the assembly line, but any job where work can be automated," he continued. "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," he said.
The president attempted to turn the country's attention away from the rhetoric of "doom and gloom." Instead, he focused on ways both parties could work together in the coming year, specifically with regards to the economy.
"I 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 without kids," he said.
Immigration, Gun Control
He also laid out his plans for 2016, including a focus on immigration, technology, advances in healthcare and wage inequality.
"I'll keep pushing for progress on the work that still needs doing -- fixing a broken immigration system, protecting our kids from gun violence, equal pay for equal work, paid leave, raising the minimum wage. All these things still matter to hardworking families; they are still the right thing to do; and I will not let up until they get done," Obama declared.
He also reiterated his recent push for gun control, a message driven home by an empty seat representing the victims of gun violence that "no longer have a voice."
Obama used a similar illustration in his 2011 State of the Union address, when he paid tribute to former Arizona Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, who was shot in the head outside a Tucson, Ariz., supermarket in 2011.
A Cure for Cancer?
One of the president's most ambitious goals for his final year in office will be seeking a cure for cancer, an initiative which will be spearheaded by Vice President Joe Biden.
"Last month, he (Biden) worked with this Congress to give scientists at the National Institutes of Health the strongest resources they've had in over a decade. Tonight, I'm announcing a new national effort to get it done," he declared.
"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," Obama said.
The president says he's never been more optimistic, but not everyone shares his enthusiasm. Polling shows some 70 percent of Americans feel the United States is heading in the wrong direction, driven in part by concerns about the nation's security.
Hours before his address, 10 U.S. sailors drifted into Iranian waters and were detained. Iran released the sailors Wednesday.
Surprisingly, Obama didn't mention that act. Instead he touted the controversial nuclear deal with the Islamic Republic.
"I can't imagine that after the Iranian deal was signed and delivered that when there is an opportunity for them to cooperate they arrest our sailors," Sen. Tim Scott, R-S.C., said.
Obama on Islam
The president calls protecting Americans from terrorists his top priority, while warning lawmakers about over-inflating the power of the Islamic State.
"Masses of fighters on the back of pickup trucks and twisted souls plotting in apartments of garages post an enormous danger to civilians and must be stopped but they do not threaten our national existence," he said.
The president scolded Americans who persecute Muslims.
"When politicians insult Muslims, when a mosque is vandalized, or a kid bullied, that doesn't make us safer. That's not telling it like it is. It's just wrong. It diminishes us in the eyes of the world. It makes it harder to achieve our goals. And it betrays who we are as a country," Obama said.
A Glaring Omission
But in what some call a glaring omission, he made no mention of Christians who've experienced a record year of persecution at home and abroad.
In addition, White House officials say there are no immediate plans to label the plight of Christians in the Middle East as "genocide."
"I mean, freedom of religion is very important but you can't have freedom of religion if you're just gonna protect the people the president wants to protect," Rep. Randy Forbes, R-Va., said.
GOP Response
While the president's address garnered several standing ovations from Democratic lawmakers, Obama's Republican critics suggested the president was ill-prepared to face the threats facing the nation.
"We are facing the most dangerous terrorist threat our nation has seen since September 11," South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley warned as she delivered the GOP response to the president's State of the Union address. "And this president appears either unwilling or unable to deal with it."
Sen. Ted Cruz agreed, noting the president's silence on the Iran hostage situation.
"The fact that that happened in the first place is a direct consequence of the weakness of the Obama-Clinton foreign policy," the Texas lawmaker told NBC News, likening the administration's foreign policy to ostriches sticking their "head in the sand."
"The last seven years of Barack Obama have been disastrous," Sen. Marco Rubio, R-Fla., charged.
Still, Gov. Haley says there's more than enough blame to go around.
"We as Republicans need to own that truth. We need to recognize our contributions to the erosion of the public trust in America's leadership. We need to accept that we've played a role in how and why our government is broken. And then we need to fix it."
Despite the partisan rancor, there are also chances for bipartisan cooperation.
"We think criminal justice reform is possible and it's something that would be really tremendous to get done for this country," White House adviser Cecilia Munoz said.
"I'm working with Republicans. We have bipartisan bills that are clearly ready to be passed," Rep. Sheila Jackson-Lee, D-Texas, said.
The President's Greatest Regret
In a rare admission, the president Obama revealed the regret of his presidency is that the rancor between Democrats and Republicans has festered, not improved under his leadership.
"There's no doubt a president with gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide," he said. "And I guarantee I'll keep trying to be better so long as I hold this office."
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