Obama takes SOTU themes on the road

President Obama took his State of the Union themes on the road Wednesday, telling a crowd in Omaha, Neb., that it is “baloney” he has weakened America.

“When you hear people peddling this fiction about our enemies getting stronger and America getting weaker, it’s hot air,” he said during a rally at the University of Nebraska.

{mosads}“It is bluster. It’s not serious. There’s another word for it that starts with a ‘B’ — baloney.”

Obama chastised Republican lawmakers, who he portrayed as rejecting his declaration that America remains the most powerful nation on earth. 

“It was strange some in the chamber didn’t appreciate that,” Obama said. “That should not be a controversial statement. We can all clap about that.

“That’s how crazy our politics has gotten at times. We now feel obliged to not root for America doing good.”

Obama also reiterated his disappointment that he has failed to bridge the nation’s partisan divide during his tenure.

“My only big regret is that our politics are even more polarized and that our parties are even more rancorous over the last seven years,” he said.

“I am going to keep trying to do better and break the fever here,” Obama added. “America is at its best when we see each other as one people.”

Speaker Paul Ryan (R-Wis.) took aim at Obama’s address on Wednesday, criticizing the president for attacking Republican presidential candidates from the rostrum.

“I think it sort of degrades the presidency to then talk about primary politics in the other party, during primaries. That’s not what presidents ought to be talking about in State of the Union addresses,” Ryan told USA Today.

Obama will continue his post-State of the Union road tour later this week with a visit to a high school in Baton Rouge, La.