Obama plays populist card to start re-election bid

US President Barack Obama used his last State of the Union speech before the November election to paint himself as the champion of the middle class, by demanding higher taxes for millionaires and tight reins on Wall Street.

Taking advantage of a huge national platform to make the case for his re-election, Obama defiantly defended his record after three years in office and laid blame for many of the country’s woes at the feet of banks and what he called an out-of-touch Congress.

He proposed sweeping changes in the tax code and remedies for the US housing crisis, setting as a central campaign theme a call for greater economic fairness.