Robert Elias | Politics professor

“What become clear to me is that Obama feels as though congress has been an impediment to getting things done. He’s putting the burden, the blame, on congress… but at the same time, he’s kind of abducating responsibility. Yes, congress is horrible at getting things done, but Obama hasn’t been a good leader in terms of rallying and gaining support for what he wants to do.”

Ian Scullion | Junior politics major

“Some notable highlights, but largely an uninspired propaganda piece (which is historically characteristic of State of the Union Addresses in general mind you). President Obama touted his “all the above” energy strategy yet again—the argument being to ostensibly become “energy independent.”

While these euphemisms may sound agreeable to the masses, the actually existing policies behind the rhetoric are quite shocking. Part of his “all the above” energy strategy includes – if deemed “safe” for the climate – the building of the highly controversial Keystone XL pipeline, which would funnel tar sands oil from Canada to the Gulf of Mexico.

In 2012, prominent American climate scientist James Hansen remarked that the exploitation of these tar sands would mean, ‘game over for the climate.’ Yet surprisingly, a recently released State Department report asserted that the building of the pipeline would not significantly exacerbate green house gas emissions in the United States. At the moment, Keystone XL looks relatively imminent. That is unless popular backlash, of which there is a remarkable amount, proves effective.”