President Barack Obama has urged Republicans and Democrats to stop their infighting and pull together.
In his State of the Union speech, Mr Obama warned a divided Congress: “We will move forward together or not at all.”
His appeal for a political truce comes three weeks after Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head at a public meeting in Tucson, Arizona.
The gunman’s rampage, which left six dead, sparked a debate on overheated political rhetoric and the need to tone down fierce partisanship.
Last night, the parents and brother of nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green, who died in the shootings, were seated next to first Lady Michelle Obama to hear the speech in Capitol Hill, Washington.
Many politicians from both parties wore black and white lapel pins signifying the deaths in Tucson and the hopes for the survivors. Rivals also broke with tradition and sat together.
Mr Obama’s call for unity comes after the Republicans took control of the House of Representatives earlier this month.
After November elections that he described as a “shellacking”, Republicans also narrowed the Democratic advantage in the Senate.
In his televised speech that laid the foundation for the second half of his presidential term and next year’s re-election fight, Mr Obama defended programmes dear to both parties.
He backed Democrat issues, including the federal Social Security pension programme and his healthcare overhaul.
But he also included some Republican top priorities.
He talked about the need for cutting the corporate tax rate, freezing some federal spending, shaking up federal bureaucracy and for eliminating politicians’ pet projects.
In his State of the Union speech, Mr Obama warned a divided Congress: “We will move forward together or not at all.”
His appeal for a political truce comes three weeks after Congresswoman Gabrielle Giffords was shot in the head at a public meeting in Tucson, Arizona.
The gunman’s rampage, which left six dead, sparked a debate on overheated political rhetoric and the need to tone down fierce partisanship.
Last night, the parents and brother of nine-year-old Christina Taylor Green, who died in the shootings, were seated next to first Lady Michelle Obama to hear the speech in Capitol Hill, Washington.
Many politicians from both parties wore black and white lapel pins signifying the deaths in Tucson and the hopes for the survivors. Rivals also broke with tradition and sat together.
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After November elections that he described as a “shellacking”, Republicans also narrowed the Democratic advantage in the Senate.
In his televised speech that laid the foundation for the second half of his presidential term and next year’s re-election fight, Mr Obama defended programmes dear to both parties.
He backed Democrat issues, including the federal Social Security pension programme and his healthcare overhaul.
But he also included some Republican top priorities.
He talked about the need for cutting the corporate tax rate, freezing some federal spending, shaking up federal bureaucracy and for eliminating politicians’ pet projects.
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