President Obama asks voters to replace him with a Democrat

With Americans soon to begin choosing his successor, President Barack Obama is casting his seven divisive years as a time of positive change.

President Barack Obama delivers his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress on Capitol Hill in Washington, D.C. (Photo by Evan Vucci - Pool/Getty Images)

He implicitly asked voters to replace him with a Democrat who would continue his hard-won policies on health care, climate change, and Iran.

He rebutted critics, naysayers and the GOP white house hopefuls, but also acknowledged his own failure to transform the country's bitter politics and unite the nation.

Some Republicans began leaving before the speech was over.

Senator Ted Cruz skipped it entirely.