State of the Union Reaction: PolicyMic's Response to Obama's Address

Impact

President Obama's State of the Union address touched on many of the issues that continue to be hotly contested around the country. Yet even still, there seemed to be an element of deja vu.

The most memorable moment of the evening was when Obama addressed gun control and pointed out the death of Hadiya Pendleton, a girl that performed at his inauguration and was later shot in a Chicago park, and said that she deserved a vote on the gun control measures in Congress. He referenced Newtown and others, and repeated the refrain, "They deserve a vote!" to a standing ovation.

Obama addressed a range of other topics, including several newer proposals including: an increase in the minimum wage, comprehensive immigration reform, investments in education, jobs programs, health care, tax reform, the debt and budget, climate change, and terrorism.

Despite all the substance and rhetoric, it seemed like something was missing. It seemed at times, like it was all things we heard before and that people were generally tuned out (or more interested in watching the Christopher Dorner drama unfold).

Did you tune in to the State of the Union, or tune out this year and why? What were the highlights or lowlights of the address? Weigh in below.