Obama pledged that the US will not concede clean technology leadership to China and vowing to combat climate change.

But details were notably lacking, raising questions over what he really expects to accomplish in these areas during his second term. Obama now faces more constraints than he did four years ago when he took office amid a grave financial crisis. A fearful nation then yearning for a different style of presidential leadership and a new direction essentially gave him carte blanche to impose his policies.

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