What O'Bama should have said.

The "needed" SOTU address:

In short, we stand at the crossroads of two futures here in the United States and worldwide.  One road leads to increasing disruption and damage, and escalating economic and military insecurity. I would call this the “business as usual” road, except the emissions we’ve already put in the atmosphere guarantee that business as usual no longer is an option, whichever road we take.
The second road takes us to a clean energy economy, to greater economic security, to fewer international tensions and resource conflicts, and to new industries and jobs. It takes us to a new American century of leadership and prosperity, and to a future we will be proud to leave to our children.
We know that all countries, including ours, will have to adapt to the climate disruptions that are inevitable because of greenhouse gases already in the atmosphere. The issue today is whether we will trigger tipping points that  cause climate change to accelerate beyond our control. The second road is still open, if we choose it quickly. And I emphasize again: The choice is not a partisan issue.  As one observer has put it, there is no Right or Left at this crossroads. There is only backward or forward.