Tagged: State of the Union

Florida Sen. Marco Rubio drew on his own humble beginnings and the continuing struggles of his West Miami neighbors — many of them immigrants like his Cuban-born parents — in the Republican response Tuesday to President Obama's State of the Union address.

In a speech delivered from the Speaker's Conference Room in the U.S. Capitol, Rubio strove mightily, and somewhat nervously, to transform the perception — cemented during last year's presidential race — that his party's embrace excludes those who aren't rich and white to one that has middle-class interests at heart.

Green ribbons were on prominent display at President Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night, worn in honor of the victims of the Newton, Conn., elementary school shooting.

Plenty of other ribbons and lapel pins gave visual support to causes. But ribbons in the green and white colors of Sandy Hook Elementary — including one worn by Vice President Biden, who was positioned behind the president on the live television coverage — were the most prominent.

Text of the GOP response to President Obama's State of the Union address as prepared for delivery and given by Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida.