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Obama's final State of the Union: 4 things to know

One highlight is the inclusion of a Mexican immigrant on the President's guest list.

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Tonight will be President Barack Obama’s final State of the Union (SOTU) address. Here are some things you should know. 

For policy wonks and the media, the SOTU is always a busy night. What will the President say about one policy or the other, who will clap (and who won’t), what will be the GOP response (and how many will there be), are some of the usual points addressed. Then comes a night of political analysis on both sides. It’s a mid-January tradition.

 
Not so much policy, more long-term vision

End-of-term SOTU’s tend to be different. Presidents talk about legacy and the future paths America needs to take. From all accounts, Obama’s final address will be no different. Most major news outlets say the President will focus more on highlighting his administration’s achievements and will seek to address Americans personally. This will not be a policy heavy address nor will it be an attempt to convince Congress to follow through on his policies.

 

#SOTU

Social media tends to spawn some entertaining ways to follow the SOTU, even if you aren't interested in the policy or political talk. Plenty of memes and drinking games out there, and who can forget the Joe Biden gifs over the years. 

via GIPHY

This year, The White House will be sending out vines, tweets, posts all over their accounts. The White House is now on Snapchat where you can also follow the address.  

 

En Español

Live closed captions in Spanish will be available for the official White House and the YouTube stream of the address. The Republican Party's response will also be broadcast in Spanish by Florida Congressman Mario Diaz-Balart.

 

The guest includes a “self-deported” Mexican immigrant

Another SOTU tradition are the guests. These are people invited by The White House to sit with the First Lady in the gallery above the House of Representatives chamber. These are usually folks handpicked to highlight topics of importance in the President’s address and reflect the state of currents events.

This year, 23 guests were invited by The White House. A Syrian refugee, the first woman to graduate from the Army Ranger School, and a 12-year-old hunger relief advocated from Bear, Del. are among the folks on the list. There will also be a symbolic 24th guest. An empty chair that will represent victims of gun violence in the country.

Also on the list is Oscar Vazquez from Fort Worth, Texas. Vazquez is an U.S. Army veteran who works as a business analyst for Burlington Northern Santa Fe Railways. He was the subject of the 2015 film “Spare Parts”, which tells the true story of a group of undocumented teenagers who compete in a national underwater robotics competition and become champions.

Vazquez came to the U.S. at age 12 from Mexico and grew up in Phoenix, Arizona. After graduating from Arizona State University in 2009, Vazquez found he could not get a job due to his legal status. He returned to Mexico and attempted to gain legal permission to return. In 2010, Vazquez was granted a waiver and later a green card. His story was presented to the Senate floor by Sen. Dick Durbin (D-Ill.)

Beginning at 9 p.m. tonight, the SOTU will be broadcast on TV, radio and streamed on the web on The White House’s official page, YouTube and Amazon

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