--- title: State of the Union 2015: Barack Obama Looks to 'Turn the Page' description: The President looks to control the debate in his final two years in office canonical: https://time.com/3675623/state-of-the-union-2015-barack-obama/ author: Zeke Miller article:opinion: false article:content_tier: free article:published_time: 2015-01-20T23:32:08.000Z article:modified_time: 2023-12-13T19:27:57.000Z article:section: Politics og:title: Obama Tries to 'Turn The Page' in State of the Union Address og:description: The President looks to control the debate in his final two years in office og:url: https://time.com/3675623/state-of-the-union-2015-barack-obama/ og:site_name: TIME og:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ebf6cc1dc1e7152/69877aed35ba6f09bfc069dd/2015-01-21t021624z_1190695064_tb3eb1l0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 og:image:width: 3100 og:image:height: 1744 og:image:alt: U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House John Boehner watch as U.S. President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 20, 2015. og:type: article twitter:card: summary_large_image twitter:title: Obama Tries to 'Turn The Page' in State of the Union Address twitter:description: The President looks to control the debate in his final two years in office twitter:image: https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ebf6cc1dc1e7152/69877aed35ba6f09bfc069dd/2015-01-21t021624z_1190695064_tb3eb1l0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=16:9 ---  # Obama Tries to 'Turn the Page' in State of the Union Address > Sponsored content. 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It explains the politics, personalities and power dynamics behind the headlines, three times a week. #### Where can I get analysis of Washington politics by email? D.C. Brief is TIME's free Washington politics newsletter, available at time.com/newsletters. It is written by a TIME senior correspondent who covers the capital full time. #### Who writes TIME's D.C. Brief? Philip Elliott, a senior correspondent at TIME, writes D.C. Brief. #### Is D.C. Brief free? Yes. D.C. Brief is free at time.com/newsletters. ## Video: Five Years of Obama's State of the Union [Watch (HLS stream): Five Years of Obama's State of the Union](https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/kvaKb5nc.m3u8) (1:29)  _Published 2015-01-19. Watch 5 years of Obama’s State of the Union addresses in 90 seconds._ by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Updated: Dec 13, 2023 7:27 PM UTCPublished: Jan 20, 2015 11:32 PM UTC  President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 20, 2015. President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 20, 2015. Larry Downing—Reuters by [Zeke Miller](https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/) ## Zeke Miller Updated: Dec 13, 2023 7:27 PM UTCPublished: Jan 20, 2015 11:32 PM UTC President Barack Obama touted a growing economy and declining deficits in [his State of the Union address](http://time.com/3675705/full-text-state-union-2015/) Tuesday evening, calling on the nation to “turn the page” after years of economic and foreign policy turmoil and to refocus on what his administration terms “middle-class economics.” “We are 15 years into this new century,” Obama said. “Fifteen years that dawned with terror touching our shores; that unfolded with a new generation fighting two long and costly wars; that saw a vicious recession spread across our nation and the world. It has been, and still is, a hard time for many. But tonight, we turn the page. “The shadow of crisis has passed, and the State of the Union is strong,” Obama said. **MORE** [How 7 ideas in the State of the Union would affect you](http://time.com/3670372/state-union-obama-ideas/) Obama’s address came with his approval ratings enjoying a tentative rebound thanks to an economic recovery that has finally gained steam after years of more sluggish job growth, but also as Republicans are emboldened to challenge him more than ever after winning full control of Congress in the midterm elections. The President is looking to keep control of the debate in Washington, and said he won’t be hampered by political constraints during his final two years in office. “I have no more campaigns to run,” Obama said. “I know because I won both of them.” Iowa Republican Sen. Joni Ernst, delivering the GOP’s official response to Obama, said the party has a mandate to change Washington after the midterm elections. “We heard the message you sent in November—loud and clear,” she said. “And now we’re getting to work to change the direction Washington has been taking our country. “The new Republican Congress also understands how difficult these past six years have been,” Ernst added. “For many of us, the sting of the economy and the frustration with Washington’s dysfunction weren’t things we had to read about. We felt them every day.” **MORE** [The full text of the State of the Union](http://time.com/3675705/full-text-state-union-2015/) The President spent the last two weeks traveling the country to announce policy initiatives and executive actions he says would boost the middle class. Those include a $320-billion combination of closing tax loopholes for the wealthy and new fees on large financial institutions to fund tax breaks for most Americans. “Tonight, after a breakthrough year for America, our economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999,” Obama said. “Our unemployment rate is now lower than it was before the financial crisis. More of our kids are graduating than ever before; more of our people are insured than ever before; we are as free from the grip of foreign oil as we’ve been in almost 30 years. “At this moment—with a growing economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry, and booming energy production—we have risen from recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on Earth,” Obama added. “It’s now up to us to choose who we want to be over the next 15 years, and for decades to come. Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well? Or will we commit ourselves to an economy that generates rising incomes and chances for everyone who makes the effort?” **MORE** [Obama made history by using this word during the State of the Union ](http://time.com/3675798/state-union-transgender/) And as he enters the lame-duck period of his presidency, Obama took an early shot at framing the legacy of a White House tenure that has enraged conservatives and disappointed many liberals. “Over the past six years, the pundits have pointed out more than once that my presidency hasn’t delivered on this vision,” he said. “How ironic, they say, that our politics seems more divided than ever. It’s held up as proof not just of my own flaws—of which there are many—but also as proof that the vision itself is misguided, naïve, that there are too many people in this town who actually benefit from partisanship and gridlock for us to ever do anything about it. “I know how tempting such cynicism may be,” Obama added. “But I still think the cynics are wrong.” Obama highlighted the ongoing American efforts against the Islamic State of Iraq and Greater Syria (ISIS), holding it up as a model for how to fight extremists in the modern era. “I believe in a smarter kind of American leadership,” he said. “We lead best when we combine military power with strong diplomacy; when we leverage our power with coalition building; when we don’t let our fears blind us to the opportunities that this new century present. That’s exactly what we’re doing right now—and around the globe, it is making a difference. “This effort will take time. It will require focus. But we will succeed,” Obama said of the anti-ISIS effort, repeating a call for Congress to pass a new authorization for the use of military force against the group, which has gained control of large swaths of Iraq and Syria. **MORE** [Why 3 Supreme Court justices didn’t attend the State of the Union](http://time.com/3672123/state-of-the-union-supreme-court/) And following last year’s devastating hack of Sony Pictures Entertainment, Obama once again called on lawmakers to pass new cybersecurity legislation. “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,” the President said. “If we don’t act, we’ll leave our nation and our economy vulnerable. If we do, we can continue to protect the technologies that have unleashed untold opportunities for people around the globe.” ## Transcript Mr. Speaker, the President of the United States. [ MUSIC ] Madam Speaker, Mr. Vice- President, distinguished guests, members of Congress, my fellow Americans, those of us here tonight have had our differences over the past two years and while we may not be able to bridge [ MUSIC ] [ INAUDIBLE ] Our biggest philosophical differences this year. Together, we have cleared away the rubble of crisis. Businesses have created more than three million jobs. Six million new jobs. Eight million new jobs our businesses have created over the past four years. It should be fairly obvious that I didn't take on health care because it was good politics. [ LAUGH ] I have heard rumors that a few of you still have concerns about our new healthcare law. Already the Affordable Care Act is helping to slow the growth of healthcare costs. We have come through a difficult decade, and a new year has come. Our journey moves forward. And our future is hopeful with our feet planted firmly in today but our eyes cast toward tomorrow I know it is within our reach despite our hardships our union is strong and the state of our union is strong and the state of our union will always be strong thank you God bless you and God bless the United States of America [ APPLAUSE ] [ MUSIC ] [ APPLAUSE ] [ MUSIC ] ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/3675623/state-of-the-union-2015-barack-obama/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/3675623/state-of-the-union-2015-barack-obama/"},"headline":"Obama Tries to 'Turn the Page' in State of the Union Address","datePublished":"2015-01-20T23:32:08.000Z","dateModified":"2023-12-13T19:27:57.000Z","description":"The President looks to control the debate in his final two years in office","url":"https://time.com/3675623/state-of-the-union-2015-barack-obama/","keywords":["White House"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ebf6cc1dc1e7152/69877aed35ba6f09bfc069dd/2015-01-21t021624z_1190695064_tb3eb1l0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Zeke Miller","jobTitle":null,"url":"https://time.com/author/zeke-j-miller/"}],"articleSection":"Politics","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt1ebf6cc1dc1e7152/69877aed35ba6f09bfc069dd/2015-01-21t021624z_1190695064_tb3eb1l0.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House John Boehner watch as U.S. President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 20, 2015.","caption":"U.S. Vice President Joe Biden and Speaker of the House John Boehner watch as U.S. President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address to a joint session of the U.S. Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington on Jan. 20, 2015.","creditText":"Larry Downing—Reuters","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/politics/","name":"Politics"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/white-house/","name":"White House"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/3675623/state-of-the-union-2015-barack-obama/","name":"Obama Tries to 'Turn the Page' in State of the Union Address"}}]},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"OBAMA: \"I have no more campaigns to run.\"","description":"OBAMA: \"I have no more campaigns to run.\"","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/hyY3hlPh/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-01-21T03:19:45.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/hyY3hlPh.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3675623/state-of-the-union-2015-barack-obama/","duration":"PT32S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3675623/state-of-the-union-2015-barack-obama/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"OBAMA: We were told our goals were misguided","description":"The State of the Union","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/RHpsmNad/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-01-21T02:51:59.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/RHpsmNad.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3675623/state-of-the-union-2015-barack-obama/","duration":"PT36S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3675623/state-of-the-union-2015-barack-obama/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"VideoObject","name":"Five Years of Obama's State of the Union","description":"Watch 5 years of Obama’s State of the Union addresses in 90 seconds.","thumbnailUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/v2/media/kvaKb5nc/poster.jpg?width=720","uploadDate":"2015-01-19T19:19:23.000Z","contentUrl":"https://cdn.jwplayer.com/manifests/kvaKb5nc.m3u8","embedUrl":"https://time.com/3675623/state-of-the-union-2015-barack-obama/","duration":"PT1M29S","potentialAction":{"@type":"SeekToAction","target":"https://time.com/3675623/state-of-the-union-2015-barack-obama/?jw_start={seek_to_second_number}","startOffset-input":"required name=seek_to_second_number"}}] ```