With his final State of the Union address given Tuesday night, President Barack Obama did exactly that: address the nation. After holding office for the past eight years, President Obama has had many accomplishments on the national scale. Discussed in this year’s State of the Union speech were topics varying from energy and climate to foreign policy to college prices, with hints of humor here and there, of course. Overall, the past eight years have not been easy, but as highlighted by the State of the Union speech, change is inevitable and with change comes new beginnings. Sophomore William Fasano said, “From the beginning of his campaign, he was put in a tough place because of national debts and wars. Overall he did a good job, considering the conditions he faced when coming into office.”

 Mentioned in President Obama’s speech was how, as a country, America has overcome many issues. Change is always an issue in the political world, but from change, prosperity can be seen. Throughout America’s history, citizens have seen wars, depressions, immigration issues, and civil rights disputes. According to President Obama, with the assurance from prosperity and security, that is how the United States recovered from financial crises, much needed reforms in energy and healthcare, and how countless veterans were returned from overseas as well as given  jobs. Sophomore Chidi Iloabachie said, “It was entertaining to watch because he is articulate and makes you want to believe what he says.”

 President Obama did not just talk about his successes, though. He included that one of his regrets in office was partisan relations. During the speech, the President addressed his contrite for not doing enough to keep positive relations between the Democratic and Republican parties. One line of his speech said, “That’s one of the few regrets of my presidency that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better.” He then stated that Presidents Lincoln and Roosevelt would have handled the situation better than he, but he promised to keeping trying to be better as long as he holds his position in office. Following this statement, President Obama spoke on how he believes that the only way to solve this issue is not to replace congressmen, senators, or even presidents, but to change the system to reflect what the people represent.

 Now that his second term is coming to an end, President Obama’s State of the Union speech wrapped up the past year well. Only time will tell how Obama’s presidency will influence the upcoming presidential election this fall.