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Republican presidential candidates at a debate last month in Las Vegas.<span style="color: Red;">*</span>(Photo: AP)
Another State of the Union tradition played out on Tuesday: criticism of the president from the opposition party and particularly its White House hopefuls in an election year.
"Frankly, you know, the country is a mess," GOP front-runner Donald Trump said on Fox Business Network, which is sponsoring a debate among Republican presidential candidates in two days.
As the president made last-minute<span style="color: Red;">*</span>preparations for his final State of the Union Address on Tuesday night, Republican candidates sharpened their critique of the White House occupant they seek to replace.
"The world has blown up around us," Trump said on Fox. "We've created havoc all over the Middle East and elsewhere, we're doing very poorly in our country. Our economy is terrible."
Across the board, Republican candidates criticized the administration over<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the economy, including flat wages and<span style="color: Red;">*</span>the rising number of Americans who have given up looking for work, and foreign policy, including<span style="color: Red;">*</span>fears of terrorism fueled by the rise of the Islamic State.
Texas Sen. Ted Cruz, who is battling Trump in the Iowa caucuses to be held Feb.1, is skipping the president's speech in the House chamber to campaign in New Hampshire, telling reporters that Obama<span style="color: Red;">*</span>will only "demagogue" his record during the address.
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Noting that the administration has set aside an empty seat in the gallery to<span style="color: Red;">*</span>symbolize victims of gun violence, Cruz said, “There ought to be a whole row of empty chairs for the middle class, for the working men and women, for all those who are struggling.”
New Jersey Gov. Chris Christie, meanwhile, hit Obama while<span style="color: Red;">*</span>delivering his own "state of the state" address in Trenton.
"The State of the Union isn't a call to action, it's a fantasy wish list by a president who has failed us," Christie said. "It's the world as he wishes it was, not the real world his failed leadership has left to all Americans."
Florida Sen. Marco Rubio<span style="color: Red;">*</span>cited concerns that terrorists could infiltrate<span style="color: Red;">*</span>refugee programs when asked about the fact that one of the presidential guests at the speech is a Syrian refugee.
"When I am president of the United States, if we do not know 100% for sure who you are or 100% for sure why you're trying to come, we're not going to let you into the country," Rubio told Fox News. "It's that straightforward."
Another GOP White House hopeful, Rand Paul, said on a radio show that<span style="color: Red;">*</span>he wishes Obama would use the speech to announced, "'Hey guys, I’ve really been a failure as a president over the last seven years and I’m gonna take off early so cause I want to go play golf.'"
The candidates echoed criticisms from Republican congressional leaders who also prepared for Obama's speech with a sense of foreboding.
In a series of messages on social media, House Speaker Paul Ryan said the president's pre-speech comments indicated that "he is full of denial and defeatism." Ryan, who as the new speaker will be sitting behind Obama on the rostrum, tweeted<span style="color: Red;">*</span>at one point that "the president & I don't agree on much. Might be hard to hide that in my facial expressions."
Senate Majority Leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, in a floor speech hours before Obama's address, said that "Americans are losing faith in the future," and "losing hope that their children can lead a better life."
While a number of polls show that many Americans do believe the nation is on the wrong track,<span style="color: Red;">*</span>White House spokesman Josh Earnest cited "the avalanche of negativity that we have seen" from the Republican presidential candidates, despite advances on the economy and in foreign affairs.
"The willingness of those candidates to exploit people's fears and insecurities and anxieties has infected the political debate," Earnest said.
In previewing his speech, Obama told NBC News that the nation is divided politically, but there is much to be proud of as well.
"Part of what I want to do in this last address is to remind people, you know what? We've got a lot of good things going for us," Obama said on NBC's Today show. "And if we can get our politics right, it turns out that we're not as divided on the ideological spectrum as people make us out to be."
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