In a final State of the Union address that was mostly a defense of his record and partly a scolding of his opponents, President Obama made a rare admission of failure.

Obama may have succeeded where liberal Harry Truman had failed on expanding the federal government’s role in healthcare. He may have won two consecutive presidential elections with majorities of the popular vote, the first Democrat to do so since Franklin D. Roosevelt. And he will deservedly be remembered for being the first black man to reach the White House.