A key re-election platform

Barack Obama is hoping his state of the union address will see him bounce in the polls, but winning a second term rests on much more than a carefully managed setpiece, writes Stephen Collinson

US PRESIDENT Barack Obama pitched new initiatives on jobs, taxes and housing in a state of the union address last night as he seized his biggest moment yet on the national stage to make a sweeping case for a second term.

However, most of Mr Obama’s proposals will face stiff Republican resistance, limiting any chance of headway in a divided Congress before the Nov 6 general election.