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| Version 0 | Version 1 |
|---|---|
| Obama 'to answer history's call' | Obama 'to answer history's call' |
| (10 minutes later) | |
| US President Barack Obama has opened his first State of the Union address, saying America is being tested and "had to answer history's call". | US President Barack Obama has opened his first State of the Union address, saying America is being tested and "had to answer history's call". |
| Mr Obama referred to difficult periods in US history but said the nation prevailed "because we chose to move forward as one nation, and one people". | Mr Obama referred to difficult periods in US history but said the nation prevailed "because we chose to move forward as one nation, and one people". |
| "Again, we are tested. And again, we must answer history's call," he said. | "Again, we are tested. And again, we must answer history's call," he said. |
| The US economy, unemployment and healthcare reform are expected to be central topics in the speech. | The US economy, unemployment and healthcare reform are expected to be central topics in the speech. |
| President Obama was given the traditional warm welcome by all sides of Congress. | President Obama was given the traditional warm welcome by all sides of Congress. |
| On the US economy, Mr Obama said he had taken office a year ago "amid two wars, an economy rocked by severe recession, a financial system on the verge of collapse, and a government deeply in debt". | |
| "But the devastation remains," he said. | |
| "One in 10 Americans still cannot find work. Many businesses have shuttered. Home values have declined. Small towns and rural communities have been hit especially hard. For those who had already known poverty, life has become that much harder. | |
| "I know the anxieties that are out there right now. They're not new. These struggles are the reason I ran for president." | |
| The address follows the Democratic Party's loss of a key Senate seat in Massachusetts last week which has deprived them of a majority of Senate votes. | The address follows the Democratic Party's loss of a key Senate seat in Massachusetts last week which has deprived them of a majority of Senate votes. |
| The loss puts in danger the president's sweeping legislative agenda he set out after taking office a year ago. | The loss puts in danger the president's sweeping legislative agenda he set out after taking office a year ago. |