WASHINGTON — It had all the trappings of a State of the Union address but since technically it was not, President Obama did not have to utter those traditional words: “The state of our union is strong.” Because, frankly, it isn’t.

This was the year that pretense and pride fell by the wayside and the president reported to the nation that things have skidded wildly off course. Then over the course of nearly an hour, Mr. Obama soug ... Read more »