In his State of the Union address last night, President Obama reassured Americans that we can overcome challenges to our economic power and called on the nation to “out-innovate, out-educate and out-build the rest of the world.”

In his second State of the Union address, President Barack Obama focused heavily on key economic challenges while embracing the idea of the U.S. as an exceptional nation that always “wins the future.”

“The rules have changed. In a single generation, revolutions in technology have transformed the way we live, work and do business. Steel mills that once needed 1,000 workers can now do the same work with 100,” President Obama said. “Meanwhile, nations like China and India realized that with some changes of their own, they could compete in this new world.”

“But this shouldn’t discourage us. It should challenge us,” the president continued. “Remember — for all the hits we’ve taken these last few years, for all the naysayers predicting our decline, America still has the largest, most prosperous economy in the world. No workers … are more productive than ours. No country has more successful companies or grants more patents to inventors and entrepreneurs. We’re the home to the world’s best colleges and universities, where more students come to study than any place on Earth.”

Front and center in last night’s address were four touchstones of making America the most competitive place in the world to do business: innovation, education, infrastructure and regulation.

Below is a summary of Obama’s statements on these subjects, including specific goals or proposals laid out in last night’s address.

1) Obama on innovation:

The first step in winning the future is encouraging American innovation. … What we can do — what America does better than anyone else — is spark the creativity and imagination of our people. … In America, innovation doesn’t just change our lives. It is how we make our living. …

This is our generation’s Sputnik moment. Two years ago, I said that we needed to reach a level of research and development we haven’t seen since the height of the Space Race. …

We’re not just handing out money. We’re issuing a challenge. We’re telling America’s scientists and engineers that if they assemble teams of the best minds in their fields, and focus on the hardest problems in clean energy, we’ll fund the Apollo projects of our time.

Specific goals/proposals:

• “We’ll invest in biomedical research, information technology and especially clean-energy technology — an investment that will strengthen our security, protect our planet and create countless new jobs for our people.”
• “Become the first country to have 1 million electric vehicles on the road by 2015.”
• “By 2035, 80 percent of America’s electricity will come from clean energy sources.”

(Related: Innovation Moves to New Frontiers and R&D on the Rebound)

2) Obama on education:

Maintaining our leadership in research and technology is crucial to America’s success. But if we want to win the future — if we want innovation to produce jobs in America and not overseas — then we also have to win the race to educate our kids. …

The quality of our math and science education lags behind many other nations. …

Let’s also remember that after parents, the biggest impact on a child’s success comes from the man or woman at the front of the classroom. In South Korea, teachers are known as ‘nation builders.’ Here in America, it’s time we treated the people who educate our children with the same level of respect. We want to reward good teachers and stop making excuses for bad ones. …

To compete, higher education must be within the reach of every American. That’s why we’ve ended the unwarranted taxpayer subsidies that went to banks, and used the savings to make college affordable for millions of students.

Specific goals/proposals:

• “Over the next 10 years…we want to prepare 100,000 new teachers in the fields of science, technology, engineering and math.”
• “I ask Congress to…make permanent our tuition tax credit — worth $10,000 for four years of college.”
• “By the end of the decade, America will once again have the highest proportion of college graduates in the world.”

(Related: Saving STEM Education: Inside Obama’s New Initiative and U.S. Science and Engineering Report Card)

3) Obama on infrastructure:

The third step in winning the future is rebuilding America. To attract new businesses to our shores, we need the fastest, most reliable ways to move people, goods and information — from high-speed rail to high-speed Internet.

Our infrastructure used to be the best, but our lead has slipped. South Korean homes now have greater Internet access than we do. Countries in Europe and Russia invest more in their roads and railways than we do. China is building faster trains and newer airports. Meanwhile, when our own engineers graded our nation’s infrastructure, they gave us a ‘D.’

Specific goals/proposals:

• “Over the last two years, we’ve begun rebuilding for the 21st century, a project that has meant thousands of good jobs for the hard-hit construction industry. And tonight, I’m proposing that we redouble those efforts.”
• “Within 25 years, our goal is to give 80 percent of Americans access to high-speed rail.”
• “Within the next five years, we’ll make it possible for businesses to deploy the next generation of high-speed wireless coverage to 98 percent of all Americans.”

(Related: Infrastructure May Be Hurting the U.S. Economy and Rethinking Our Approach to Infrastructure)

4) Obama on policy and regulation:

All these investments — in innovation, education and infrastructure — will make America a better place to do business and create jobs. But to help our companies compete, we also have to knock down barriers that stand in the way of their success. …

To reduce barriers to growth and investment, I’ve ordered a review of government regulations. When we find rules that put an unnecessary burden on businesses, we will fix them. But I will not hesitate to create or enforce common-sense safeguards to protect the American people. That’s what we’ve done in this country for more than a century.

Specific goals/proposals:

• “Eliminate the billions in taxpayer dollars we currently give to oil companies” and invest in biofuels.
• Ratify the free-trade pact with South Korea “as soon as possible.”
• Use the savings from closing tax loopholes “to lower the corporate tax rate for the first time in 25 years — without adding to our deficit.”

(Related: Manufacturers Aim to Educate Policymakers on Industry and Critical Costs in Modern Manufacturing)

“Our success in this new and changing world will require reform, responsibility and innovation. It will also require us to approach that world with a new level of engagement in our foreign affairs,” Obama said. “Just as jobs and businesses can now race across borders, so can new threats and new challenges. No single wall separates East and West. No one rival superpower is aligned against us.”

To that end, the president highlighted his goal of doubling the nation’s exports by 2014, as well as recently signed agreements with India and China that will support more than 250,000 jobs in the U.S. and a trade agreement with South Korea that will support at least 70,000 American jobs.

“At stake is whether new jobs and industries take root in this country or somewhere else,” the president said. “It’s whether the hard work and industry of our people is rewarded.”

In case you missed last night’s State of the Union address, you can watch it here: