President Barack Obama gave shout-outs to House Speaker John Boehner and Sen. Marco Rubio (R-FL) in his State of the Union speech Tuesday evening. Obama referenced how Boehner’s father was a bartender in Ohio.
“The point is, there are millions of Americans outside Washington who are tired of stale political arguments and are moving this country forward,” Obama said before setting up a pat on Boehner’s and his own backs.
They believe, and I believe, that here in America, our success should depend not on accident of birth, but the strength of our work ethic and the scope of our dreams. That’s what drew our forebears here. It’s how the daughter of a factory worker is CEO of America’s largest automaker; how the son of a barkeeper is Speaker of the House; how the son of a single mom can be President of the greatest nation on Earth.
Later in his speech, Obama praised Rubio in the context of remarks on income inequality.
“There are other steps we can take to help families make ends meet, and few are more effective at reducing inequality and helping families pull themselves up through hard work than the Earned Income Tax Credit,” Obama said. “Right now, it helps about half of all parents at some point. But I agree with Republicans like Senator Rubio that it doesn’t do enough for single workers who don’t have kids. So let’s work together to strengthen the credit, reward work, and help more Americans get ahead.”