Transcript link: [ Ссылка ]
HIGH Quality: Obama STATE of the UNION Address 2012
US President Barack Obama demanded large tax hikes on millionaires to finance a fair economy for all, sketching a populist vision to persuade crisis-weary voters he merits a second White House term.
"We can either settle for a country where a shrinking number of people do really well, while a growing number of Americans barely get by," Obama said in his State of the Union address 10 months before he seeks reelection.
"Or we can restore an economy where everyone gets a fair shot, everyone does their fair share, and everyone plays by the same set of rules," he said, playing on rising anger over inequality in post-recession America.
In the annual ritual, Obama's best chance for months to directly reach millions of voters, he mostly surveyed domestic issues as he fires up his campaign machine.
But he did touch on several simmering foreign crises -- including the deepening nuclear showdown with Iran, which has exposed him to searing charges of weakness from Republican White House hopefuls.
"Let there be no doubt. America is determined to prevent Iran from getting a nuclear weapon, and I will take no options off the table to achieve that goal," Obama said, earning a standing ovation in the House of Representatives.
"But a peaceful resolution of this issue is still possible, and far better, and if Iran changes course, and meets its obligations, it can rejoin the community of nations."
The president, breathing defiance, said the "defining issue" of our time was how to safeguard the basic "American promise" that hard work could provide a decent lifestyle.
HIGH Quality: Obama STATE of the UNION Address 2012
HIGH Quality: Obama STATE of the UNION Address 2012
HIGH Quality: Obama STATE of the UNION Address 2012
