Guns, taxes, and immigration top Obama proposals

President Barack Obama set up high-stakes clashes with Republicans over guns, immigration, taxes, and climate change in a state of the union address that showcased his determination to mark his legacy.

Republican Paul Ryan said Obama could better achieve his goals if he would get out of “campaign mode”.

At the centre of looming confrontations in Washington is a fight over the very role of government, with Obama pushing a raft of new initiatives to improve pre-school programmes and voting, boost manufacturing, research, and development, raise the minimum wage, and lower energy use. “It is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on behalf of the many and not just the few,” he said.