As his presidency begins to come to a close, President Barack Obama took to the podium Jan. 12 to deliver his final State of the Union address.

Opening up his speech with a few laughs, Mr. Obama clarified that he would try to make this a “short one”.

State of the unions addresses have been a regular occurrence since America’s first president George Washington took office. These speeches can cover a variety of issues prevalent in the nation at the time and can vary in length as well. Although televised since 1947, the speeches have only recently begun to be posted onto the internet for citizens everywhere to read, regardless of whether they were able to view the address live or not.

In this particular state of the union address, Mr. Obama chose to cover a wide range of issues facing the nation. After addressing a hostile Congress and an often times angry presidential campaign, as well the state of the economy and terrorism, Obama used his final State of the Union address to describe his vision for the future and reflect on his presidency.

With initial promises of hope and change for the country as well as a transformation of Washington not becoming a reality, the politician rather than defending himself and his actions, accepted responsibility for falling far short of these goals.

“It’s one of the few regrets of my presidency, that the rancor and suspicion between the parties has gotten worse instead of better,” Mr. Obama said, adding that “a president with the gifts of Lincoln or Roosevelt might have better bridged the divide.

After addressing his shortcomings, but also his triumphs, Mr. Obama ended his final address remarking that he is “ as confident as ever that the state of our union is strong”