Washington ( CNN ) -- The heart of President Barack Obama 's speech Tuesday was the same focus on jobs and middle-class economic uncertainty that 's driven every State of the Union of his presidency . But that was far from the only ground he covered . The president reeled off a laundry list of small-bore proposals : He called on Congress to hike the minimum wage to $ 9 an hour and invest $ 50 billion on rebuilding roads and bridges . He proposed universal preschool for 4-year-olds and linking some federal grant decisions to research schools on their ability to keep tuition costs in check . And he urged Congress to put his full gun control agenda up for a vote . 5 things we learned from the State of the Union . Nearly every idea in his speech had a couple of things in common : Virtually all of them are core Democratic priorities presented in language that delighted the base . None of them were shoot-for-the moon ambitious . They were either old ideas repackaged or markedly modest new ones . And few if any of them are likely to become a reality under the current Congress . State of the Union : More same old , same old . In a sharp contrast to his first address to Congress four years ago , the president paid lip service to bipartisanship , but he made clear that it was a luxury , not a driving priority . He invited Republicans to join him in a bipartisan effort ... to back the Democratic policy vision . If the speech came across more like a wish list than an action plan with a good chance of making it past the House , that 's because it was . Just laying the exhaustive string of liberal policy priorities seemed to be the point -- a companion to the ideological offensive in his inauguration speech . The top priority Tuesday was n't necessarily jobs , or guns , or climate change , or voting rights . It was the sum of all those parts , a liberal vision that Obama clearly hopes will nudge the country in that direction . What Obama said . `` It is our unfinished task to restore the basic bargain that built this country -- the idea that if you work hard and meet your responsibilities , you can get ahead , '' the president said . `` It is our unfinished task to make sure that this government works on behalf of the many , and not just the few . '' The framing in Tuesday 's speech was designed to help the president score two wins : in the long term , a progressive legacy , and in the short run , an advantage in the budget battles and debt ceiling drama . With the GOP laying responsibility for a looming sequester at the White House door , the president pointed to Republicans ' emphasis on the need for entitlement reform as proof that they 're laying the burden for deficit reduction on cops and teachers and seniors instead of `` the wealthiest and most powerful . '' `` Deficit reduction alone is not an economic plan , '' he said . `` A growing economy that creates good , middle-class jobs -- that must be the North Star that guides our efforts . '' Obama dares Congress to get the job done . It 's a message designed to resonate with working-class voters , and the Republican Party 's standard-bearer for the evening , Sen. Marco Rubio , countered with a mirror-image appeal to the same demographic . `` Mr. President , I still live in the same working-class neighborhood I grew up in . My neighbors are n't millionaires . They 're retirees who depend on Social Security and Medicare , '' Rubio said . `` I do n't oppose your plans because I want to protect the rich . I oppose your plans because I want to protect my neighbors . '' Rubio says Obama would hurt the middle class . The approach was much the same as the president 's , an ideological vision unweighted by grand , ambitious plans to make it a reality . In fact , for an exhaustive speech , Obama 's State of the Union was notably short on some key specifics . The White House has so far brushed off calls for a price tag for the proposals in Tuesday 's speech , promising a full accounting when the president sends his next budget to Congress . But in the end , the policy details may be less important than the political timing . The White House and congressional Republicans remain locked in a brutal message war over the sequester , now just over two weeks away . Opinion roundup : How did Obama and Rubio do ?
Obama reels off a list of core Democratic priorities in State of the Union address . President invited Congress to join him in his effort -- to push Democratic agenda . Framing of speech was to take advantage in the budget deficit and debt ceiling drama . Rubio 's speech was mirror image -- an ideological vision with no plans to make it reality .