Washington (CNN) - Citing a "deficit of trust" in government by the American people, President Obama's first State of the Union address urged Congress to erode the influence of special interests and work together to confront the nation's most pressing problems.
In the nationally televised speech Wednesday night to a joint session of Congress, Obama sought to reassure Americans angry and nervous about the pace of economic recovery that his government understood the challenges and would act boldly to meet them.
The president offered populist proposals that some say could reconnect his administration with middle-class Americans, and he offered a plea to end the partisan stalemate in Washington and work for the common good. FULL STORY
Full coverage | Speech transcript | GOP response
Full video: Part one 
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