This article analyses the source domains regularly used to name education in President Obama’s State of the Union Addresses, with the intention of gaining a cultural understanding of his speech on education during his period of government from 2009 to 2016. This project will operate on the basis of the ideas of the Conceptual Metaphor Theory (CMT), which is within the field of cognitive linguistics, complemented by the Metaphor Identification Procedure (MIP), which was developed by the Pragglejazz Group. The two source domains considered and analysed are COMPETITION and ECONOMICS. Indeed, Obama’s coherence along his speeches depends on the recurrent use of the idea of competition which serves as a compelling strategy by encapsulating reality and guiding the listeners’ thought, perception and even behaviour.