State of the Union: Obama pledges to reignite economy

President Barack Obama has pledged in his annual State of the Union speech to revive the sluggish US economy by creating "good, middle-class jobs". The Democratic president promised "smarter" rather than bigger government for "the many, and not just the few". He also called for efforts to reduce gun violence and urged bipartisan immigration reform. In the Republican response, Senator Marco Rubio will urge Mr Obama to end his "obsession" with raising taxes. 'North Star' Speaking in the House of Representatives, Mr Obama told his audience that his generation's task is "to reignite the true engine of America's economic growth - a rising, thriving middle class". Delivering growth and jobs will be the "North Star that guides our efforts", he added. But he insisted that nothing he proposes will raise the deficit "by a single dime". Mr Obama's economic blueprint has a familiar ring - he pledged during last year's election campaign to create a million manufacturing jobs during his second term. But Republicans are strongly opposed to increased government spending, amid a rancorous political divide over how to tame the US budget deficit. Mr Obama proposed reforms to reduce the cost of Medicare but argued "we can't just cut our way to prosperity". Correspondents say the president is popular and has political capital to spend after November's election victory, but that he only has about a year to push his legislative plans. Washington's attention will then turn to the mid-term elections, when the party in the White House usually sheds congressional seats. In his speech, Mr Obama also called for federal investment in infrastructure, clean energy and education. People on either side of the gun control debate, which flared up again after December's school massacre in Connecticut, watched the president speak from the gallery. First Lady Michelle Obama sat with the parents of a Chicago teenage band majorette shot and killed just days after performing at last month's presidential inauguration. Republican Representative Steve Stockman of Texas has invited musician Ted Nugent, a staunch gun-control opponent who remarked last year he would be "dead or in jail" if Mr Obama were re-elected. Conservative divisions The White House has proposed a ban on certain weapons and on high-capacity ammunition magazines, as well as universal background checks on gun buyers. But analysts say only the last of those measures stands much chance politically. In addition, Mr Obama announced the withdrawal of 34,000 US troops from Afghanistan by next year. North Korea chose to conduct an underground nuclear test less than a day before the president's showpiece annual speech. Mr Obama said the US will "lead the world in taking firm action in response to these threats". He praised bipartisan efforts to draw up an immigration bill, adding that if he is sent comprehensive reform legislation, "I will sign it right away". Mr Obama will take to the road in the coming days to push his economic recovery proposals, stopping in the US states of North Carolina and Georgia and in his hometown of Chicago, Illinois. Sen Rubio, a possible 2016 Republican presidential candidate, is expected to attack Mr Obama's economic policies, as he delivers his party's official riposte. The Cuban-American senator, who will make his address in English and Spanish, will refer to the pain felt by residents of the working-class neighbourhood in which he grew up. He will tell Mr Obama: "I don't oppose your plans because I want to protect the rich. I oppose your plans because I want to protect my neighbours." The Florida senator will also warn the president that the "tax increases and the deficit spending you propose will hurt middle-class families". Underscoring conservative divisions, immediately after the Rubio speech Kentucky Republican Senator Rand Paul will deliver the Tea Party's rebuttal to Mr Obama's address. "We are the party that embraces hard work and ingenuity, therefore we must be the party that embraces the immigrant who wants to come to America for a better future," Mr Paul will say, according to a text released in advance.