Barack Obama will give his last annual speech tonight on the state of the US.
Originally appeared at Pogled, translated by Borislav exclusively for SouthFront
The White House is promising an unconventional speech, as Obama will refrain from the traditional listing of legislative priorities. Instead, according to his advisers, Obama will likely use his last access to a broad national audience to justify his place in the history books and to infuse optimism for the future.
It is expected that around 30 million people will watch the announcement live.
The long prepared speech will invite Americans to deal with unresolved issues – from racial hatred, to arms control and drug abuse.
It is not expected for Obama to delve into the subject of the upcoming presidential elections which will determine his successor, but his optimistic tone will be in stark contrast to the rhetoric of the Republican Party.
Advisers to the president will also try to use the maximum time through social and digital media.
For this purpose, the White House is registered in “Snapchat” and “iGenius Ltd.”. The last application is used to explain rap lyrics, and now in it will be annotated the messages of the American head of state. After the speech, Obama will be interviewed by three celebrities in Youtube.
The speech from the President comes at a complicated time, a year before he leaves office. The complicated political situation, terrorist threats and the anxiety of the middle class, lead to results from a recent study according to which 67 percent of Americans believe that the country is not on the right track.
Unemployment is low, the economy grows and the shock of the financial crisis has passed, but the gap between rich and poor is huge.
White House spokesman Josh Ernest acknowledges the difficulties in the sphere of economy and security, but according to him the desire of Republicans to “take advantage of the fear and uncertainty of people poisons the political debate.”
Barack Obama’s address will start at 4 o’clock, tomorrow morning local time.
