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    Back to To the Point

    To the Point

    The State of the Union, the GOP and the 2012 Presidential Campaign

    In his second speech on the State of the Union , Barack Obama told a divided Congress that "contentious" debates are a "good thing" that "robust democracy demands."  He also called for a new era of cooperation.

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    By Warren Olney • May 12, 2014 • 1 min read

    In his second speech on the State of the Union, Barack Obama told a divided Congress that "contentious" debates are a "good thing" that "robust democracy demands." He also called for a new era of cooperation. Today, at a clean-tech energy company in Wisconsin, Obama re-emphasized last night's theme that "innovation" will create the jobs of the future. But in the official response to his State of the Union address, Republicans said his call for "investment" was a recipe for more government spending. What else did the President tell a divided Congress and the American people? What are the prospects for new legislation and the political future?

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Assessing Obama's 2011 State of the Union
    1. 0:00Obama Takes His State of the Union Message on the Road
    2. 7:59The State of the Union, the GOP and the 2012 Presidential CampaignYou’re reading this
    3. 43:48What's in a Smile?
    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/e23b2c8a5a7a4a05410f82a6104e445f/custom_thumbnail_large.png?h=250&fm=webp

      Warren Olney

      former KCRW broadcaster

    • https://images.ctfassets.net/2658fe8gbo8o/AvYox6VuEgcxpd20Xo9d3/e23b2c8a5a7a4a05410f82a6104e445f/custom_thumbnail_large.png?h=250&fm=webp

      Darrell Satzman

      Producer

    • Sonya Geis with wavy brown hair wearing a black dress with red accents and decorative earrings against a white background.

      Sonya Geis

      Senior Managing Editor

    • KCRW placeholder

      Christian Bordal

      Managing Producer, Greater LA

    • KCRW placeholder

      Jennifer Psaki

      Deputy Press Secretary, White House

    • KCRW placeholder

      Ari Berman

      voting rights reporter for Mother Jones, author of “Minority Rule: The Right-Wing Attack on the Will of the People ― and the Fight to Resist It”

    • KCRW placeholder

      Rich Galen

      Mullings.com

      NewsNationalPolitics

    The full episode

    2 of 3
    Assessing Obama's 2011 State of the Union
    1. 0:00Obama Takes His State of the Union Message on the Road
    2. 7:59The State of the Union, the GOP and the 2012 Presidential CampaignYou’re reading this
    3. 43:48What's in a Smile?
    Back to To the Point