Terrorism
President Barack Obama said the United States will continue to hunt down terrorist groups and shut down their operations. He addressed partnerships with countries overseas to stop providing safe havens for terrorist groups. While he reported the combat mission in Afghanistan is over, America is not done on the Middle East with conflict with the Islamic State group still ongoing.
Cyber security
Along with encouraging the idea of a free and open internet for all communities, Obama addressed the issue of cyber security. “We are making sure our government integrates intelligence to combat cyber threats, just as we have done to combat terrorism. And tonight, I urge this Congress to finally pass the legislation we need to better meet the evolving threat of cyber-attacks, combat identity theft and protect our children’s information,” Obama said.
Middle-class economies
“The idea that this country does best when everyone gets their fair shot, everyone does their fair share and everyone plays by the same set of rules,” Obama said. During his speech, he encouraged Congress to focus on finding ways for working class families to feel more secure. He supported the idea of an economy that creates “chances for everyone that makes the effort.”
Economy
Obama reported that America’s economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999. The unemployment rate is lower than it was before the financial crisis, and more people are insured than ever before. Obama spent a good portion of the speech discussing how America can continue to improve the economy by creating more American-based jobs and addressing tax reform.
Broad speech
In an effort to cover as many issues as possible in his hour-long speech, Obama broadly spoke on issues. While he did give some concrete examples for military issues and economy, other issues like civil rights and tax reform were addressed in more general terms. While he covered a wide number of topics, depth into each of them was lacking.