03:52 GMT - The president has left the Capitol and the pundits have taken the stage to spin the reaction from both parties, so we are closing the Live Report on the Obama's last State of the Union address.
US President Barack Obama departs following his State of the Union address in Washington, DC
03:40 GMT - Cooperation? - Speaking straight into the camera from the Armed Services Committee room, the Senator strikes a pleasant, but not solicitous, tone in her critique of the president. She slammed health care reform and the president's economic plans. She called for approval of the Keystone Pipeline and tax reform.
"With a little cooperation from the president, we can get Washington working again. Thank you for allowing me to speak with you tonight. May God bless this great country of ours, the brave Americans serving in uniform on our behalf, ayou, the hard-working men and women who make the United States of America the greatest nation the world has ever known.
03:23 GMT - Reaction - The Republican response will be offered by Joni Ernst, a new Senator from Iowa. She is a soldier and farmer, who rose to national prominence with a campaign ad highlighting her skills at castrating hogs.
Earlier, an Iowa reporter tweeted a picture of a pair of camoflage high heels, indicating they were Ernst's choice for her high profile speech.
03:17 GMT - Long exit - After 62.5 applause lines (a half for the one he didn't like so much) Obama begins another schmoozy gauntlet to slowly exist the Chamber. A deep crush of lawmakers, used to commanding a crowd themselves, line up for a picture and an autograph from the president.
03:11 GMT - Closing - Obama ends with a call to action, asking the Congress, controlled by opposition Republicans, to work with him.
"My only agenda for the next two years is the same as the one I've had since the day I swore an oath on the steps of this Capitol – to do what I believe is best for America. If you share the broad vision I outlined tonight, join me in the work at hand. If you disagree with parts of it, I hope you’ll at least work with me where you do agree. And I commit to every Republican here tonight that I will not only seek out your ideas, I will seek to work with you to make this country stronger.
"My fellow Americans, we too are a strong, tight-knit family. We, too, have made it through some hard times. Fifteen years into this new century, we have picked ourselves up, dusted ourselves off, and begun again the work of remaking America. We've laid a new foundation. A brighter future is ours to write. Let's begin this new chapter – together – and let's start the work right now.
"Thank you, God bless you, and God bless this country we love.
03:08 GMT - "I won both of them" - The president, beginning to wind down his remarks with an appeal for bipartisanship, notes he has "no more campaigns to run," but the applause that follows is unexpected. He pauses and snarks, "I know, because I won both of them."
03:00 GMT - "It's not who we are" - Like when he first ran for president, Obama condemned the prison at Guantamo Bay, Cuba and vowed to finally close it.
"As Americans, we have a profound commitment to justice – so it makes no sense to spend three million dollars per prisoner to keep open a prison that the world condemns and terrorists use to recruit. Since I've been president, we've worked responsibly to cut the population of GTMO in half. Now it's time to finish the job. And I will not relent in my determination to shut it down.
"It's not who we are."
02:54 GMT - Climate - Obama vowed action on climate change, daring Republicans to act to change the country produces and uses energy.
"2014 was the planet's warmest year on record. Now, one year doesn’t make a trend, but this does – 14 of the 15 warmest years on record have all fallen in the first 15 years of this century.
The best scientists in the world are all telling us that our activities are changing the climate, and if we do not act forcefully, we'll continue to see rising oceans, longer, hotter heat waves, dangerous droughts and floods, and massive disruptions that can trigger greater migration, conflict, and hunger around the globe.
I will not let this Congress endanger the health of our children by turning back the clock on our efforts. I am determined to make sure American leadership drives international action.
02:51 GMT - Pencils - As the president vowed US support for the fight against extremist violence around the world, some 40 lawmakers waved yellow pencils to show support for free expression in the wake of the attack on Charlie Hebdo magazine in Paris.
02:46 GMT - Captain Kelly - Obama singled out one of the first lady's highest profile guests: Captain Scott Kelly, a NASA astronaut who is about to embark on a year-long trip to the International Space Station.
If he looks familiar it is because his identical twin brother has also been in space -- and has also been a guest at the State of the Union. Captain Mark Kelly is married to former congresswoman Gabby Giffords, who was shot in the head at a campaign event in 2011. The two have become advocates for gun control and were guests at the State of the Union in 2013.
"I want Americans to win the race for the kinds of discoveries that unleash new jobs – converting sunlight into liquid fuel; creating revolutionary prosthetics, so that a veteran who gave his arms for his country can play catch with his kid; pushing out into the Solar System not just to visit, but to stay. Last month, we launched a new spacecraft as part of a re-energized space program that will send American astronauts to Mars. In two months, to prepare us for those missions, Scott Kelly will begin a year-long stay in space. Good luck, Captain – and make sure to Instagram it."
02:39 GMT - Community College - Obama calls for community college, generally the first two years of higher education at less competitive institutions, to be free for students who keep up good grades.
"By the end of this decade, two in three job openings will require some higher education. Two in three. And yet, we still live in a country where too many bright, striving Americans are priced out of the education they need. It's not fair to them, and it's not smart for our future. That's why I am sending this Congress a bold new plan to lower the cost of community college – to zero.
"Tennessee, a state with Republican leadership, and Chicago, a city with Democratic leadership, are showing that free community college is possible. I want to spread that idea all across America, so that two years of college becomes as free and universal in America as high school is today. And I want to work with this Congress, to make sure Americans already burdened with student loans can reduce their monthly payments, so that student debt doesn't derail anyone's dreams.
02:36 GMT - The Good Wife - Twitter explodes with pictures of Michelle Obama's outfit alongside shots of Alicia Florrick, a character in the prime time drama "The Good Wife," who wore the bold Michael Kors suit first.
02:32 GMT - Middle class economics - Obama outlined his economic plans, calling it "middle class economics."
"So what does middle-class economics require in our time?
Here's one example. During World War II, when men like my grandfather went off to war, having women like my grandmother in the workforce was a national security priority – so this country provided universal childcare. In today's economy, when having both parents in the workforce is an economic necessity for many families, we need affordable, high-quality childcare more than ever. It's not a nice-to-have – it's a must-have.
It's time we stop treating childcare as a side issue, or a women's issue, and treat it like the national economic priority that it is for all of us. And that's why my plan will make quality childcare more available, and more affordable, for every middle-class and low-income family with young children in America – by creating more slots and a new tax cut of up to $3,000 per child, per year."
He also called for guaranteed sick leave and paid maternity leave. "Forty-three million workers have no paid sick leave," he said. "And that forces too many parents to make the gut-wrenching choice between a paycheck and a sick kid at home."
02:27 GMT - Good news - "At every step, we were told our goals were misguided or too ambitious; that we would crush jobs and explode deficits. Instead, we've seen the fastest economic growth in over a decade, our deficits cut by two-thirds, a stock market that has doubled, and health care inflation at its lowest rate in fifty years.
This is good news people!
02:19 GMT - Strong - "The shadow of crisis has passed, and the State of the Union is strong.
At this moment – with a growing economy, shrinking deficits, bustling industry, and booming energy production – we have risen from recession freer to write our own future than any other nation on Earth. It’s now up to us to choose who we want to be over the next fifteen years, and for decades to come.
Will we accept an economy where only a few of us do spectacularly well? Or will we commit ourselves to an economy that generates rising incomes and chances for everyone who makes the effort?
Will we approach the world fearful and reactive, dragged into costly conflicts that strain our military and set back our standing? Or will we lead wisely, using all elements of our power to defeat new threats and protect our planet?
02:12 GMT - Economics - After presenting the speech to Speaker John Boehner, the president turns to the chamber and begins with economics:
"Tonight, after a breakthrough year for America, our economy is growing and creating jobs at the fastest pace since 1999. Our unemployment rate is now lower than it was before the financial crisis. More of our kids are graduating than ever before; more of our people are insured than ever before; we are as free from the grip of foreign oil as we've been in almost 30 years.
02:07 GMT - Long walk - With the ritual introduction from Sergeant at Arms Paul Irving, "Mr. Speaker, the President of the United States," Obama enters the chamber.
To get to the front, Obama passes a gauntlet of senators and representatives hoping for a handshake and a smile. Some will have been in the room for hours, vying for a prime spot on the aisle ensuring them a good television shot of the president lingering with their hello.
02:06 GMT - OBAMA TO INSIST US STANDS WITH TERROR VICTIMS 'FROM PAKISTAN TO PARIS'
02:04 GMT - OBAMA TO URGE CONGRESS TO END EMBARGO TO CUBA
02:02 GMT - OBAMA SAYS 'WILL NOT RELENT' IN BID TO CLOSE GUANTANMO PRISON
02:00 GMT - Details - In an unprecedented move, the White House releases the entire speech online before the president even enters the Chamber.
01:55 GMT - Guests - The first lady has a special box in the Chamber and her guest list is often used to score political points. Joining Michelle Obama tonight is a teenager from Chicago who only asked for a safe neighborhood for Christmas, an astronaut and a woman who was able to have her brain tumor removed thanks to the health care reform.
Also with the first lady are retired Staff Sgt. Jason Gibson, Westerville, who lost both legs in Afghanistan. When the president went to visit him at the hospital, he didn't register who his visitor was. He said that at first he “was more concerned with who was this stranger hugging my wife.” The pair welcomed their first child in November.
In a nod to his moves toward easing tensions with Cuba, Obama welcomed Alan Gross who was recently released from a Cuban prison after five years.
01:50 GMT - VIPs - Dr. Jill Biden, the wife of Vice President Joe Biden, enters the Chamber in a bright green, sleeveless dress. She is quickly followed by the diplomatic corps, the cabinet and members of the Supreme Court.
There is always some question as to which justices will attend, especially since 2010 when conservative Justice Samuel Alito was seen on camera reacting to Obama's comments on a court ruling. Tonight, Chief Justice John Roberts made the trip as did Ruth Bader Ginsburg, a cancer survivor who recently had heart surgery.
During the speech, they generally do not stand and clap with the lawmakers. Their restraint is not meant as disrespect, but instead an assertion of their impartiality.
Missing tonight will be Transportation Secretary Anthony Foxx, who has the dubious honor of sitting out the speech. In a tradition that started with the Cold War, one cabinet secretary is the "designated survivor," singled out to take over the government in the unlikely event of a catastrophe at the Capitol.
01:43 GMT - Navy blue - The president exits the White House for the short drive to the Capitol, dressed in a dark blue suit. He was accompanied by his wife, Michelle Obama, in a gray tweed suit.
01:38 GMT - #YesWeTan? - But before Obama can get down to the nitty gritty of policy proposals, he faces several minutes of protoccol, back-slapping and assorted political rigamorole.
And the television cameras and prime-time audience ensure the speech is also a media spectacle. As much as people are talking about what he will say, there is much discussion of what he, and Mrs. Obama, will wear.
Earlier, the White House tweeted a picture of a decidedly less dressy tan suit with the hashtag #YesWeTan, teasing fashion watchers across the country.
01:37 GMT - Policy plans - The president has already outlined much of what he will say tonight in speeches and statements in recent days, much of which is sure to rile Republicans.
Under Obama's reforms, the wealthiest 0.1 percent of people -- those earning more than $2 million per year -- would face higher taxes. He is also to call on Congress to authorize the use of force against the Islamic State jihadist group and challenge them to pass measures to combat cyber-attacks. He will outline plans for more access to preschool for 4-year-olds and community college for students who maintain good grades.
01:33 GMT - WELCOME to AFP's Live Report on the 2015 State of the Union address. Mandated by the Constitution, the annual speech has become a chance for the president to outline his goals for the coming year. President Barack Obama will be no exception.
According to excerpts released by the White House, Obama will draw a line under years of war and economic hardship, saying the country is ready to "turn the page."
"We are fifteen years into this new century. Fifteen years that dawned with terror touching our shores; that unfolded with a new generation fighting two long and costly wars; that saw a vicious recession spread across our nation and the world. It has been, and still is, a hard time for many," he is to say.
"But tonight, we turn the page."