Unburdened by elections and economic distress, Obama showed his swagger

A lighter moment in Barack Obama’s State of the Union address last night came when he said that he had “no more campaigns to run.”

The statement drew sarcastic claps from Republicans, and happy applause from his wife Michelle watching in the public gallery.

“I know ‘cos I won both of them,” he shot back at his political opponents in a rare off-script remark to cheers from fellow Democrats.

The speech to the joint session of Congress left the impression that Mr Obama has not packed away the campaign soap boxes just yet.

The president circled back to the themes of change and unity that he campaigned on during his first presidential race as he defended the promises he made then and policies he believes have, and will, deliver.

“My only agenda for the next two years is the same as the one I’ve had since the day I swore an oath on the steps of this Capitol: to do what I believe is best for America,” he said.

A glance last night across the ashen Republican faces in a Congress controlled by Mr Obama’s rivals leaves little doubt that the progressive goals he set out last night have little chance of passing.

In his penultimate state of the union address, he evoked his famous speech at the 2004 Democratic National Convention that put him on the political map when he said there was no liberal or conservative America, no black or white America, but a United States of America.

President Obama hit back at his critics, noting how “the pundits” have said his presidency hasn’t delivered on his promise of unity, that politics appears more guided than ever and that his vision was misguided.

“I know how tempting such cynicism may be. But I still think that the cynics are wrong,” he said.

“I still believe that we are one people. I still believe that together we can do great things, even when the odds are long.”

By declaring the end of an era of foreign wars and financial crisis and the beginning of “a new chapter,” a confident Mr Obama claimed credit for the wind-down of unpopular conflicts and the economic crisis. He laid out a plan of further ambitious economic changes to help the lower and middle classes at the expense of the wealthy.

It was a peculiar way to address a Republican majority in Congress in a State of the Union address for the first time in his presidency.

Mr Obama made no reference to the election hammering that Democrats took in November’s midterm elections and mostly ignored the political reality that he must broker deals with his opponents.

Given that Republicans are unlikely to approve $320 billion of tax increases that penalise their supporters, Mr Obama’s bold declarations and proposals around “middle-class economics” are unlikely to break the pattern of partisan gridlock that paralysed the last Congress.

So why take this approach? The speech can be seen as Mr Obama’s attempt to consolidate a legacy as an agent of change, or at least at attempted change in the face of obstructionist Republicans.

This may confirm his lame-duck status in the final two years of his presidency but it will energise the Democratic base by framing the political debate around middle-class policies and uncompromising Republicans in the run-up to the next presidential election in 2016.

Mr Obama’s speech felt in parts like a farewell address defending his track record and long-held policy positions that he has no interest in compromising and which Republicans have no interest in passing.

Free from the constraints of election politics and a weak economy, Mr Obama at times gave the sense of a president with nothing to lose, goading Republicans for opposing a raise in the minimum wage.

“To everyone in this Congress who still refuses to raise the minimum wage, I say this: if you truly believe you could work full-time and support a family on less than $15,000 a year, go try it,” he said.

The president went further, threatening to veto Republicans if they tried to unwind his healthcare law, Wall Street rules or immigration actions or threatened nuclear talks with Iran by introducing sanctions.

President Obama concluded his speech by promising that he would work with Republicans, calling for “better politics” where the parties would “appeal to each other’s basic decency instead of our basest fears.”

His occasional cocky swagger in his sixth State of the Union address will not help create the spirit of bipartisanship he needs to pass proposals to affirm his legacy as the great champion of the middle class.