President Obama used his State of the Union message this week to advance an ambitious set of economic proposals. But however appealing they are, they stand no chance of passage by a Republican-controlled Congress that so far appears determined to deny him political victory.

Mr. Obama’s presidency has two years to run. It seems premature to give up on the hope, however faint, of passing meaningful legislation based on bipartisan consensus and economic improvement.

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And if the lame-duck President seeks to define a stark ideological contrast between the major parties before the 2016 presidential campaign, his Democratic Party might not appreciate that effort, given the shellacking it took in last year’s election. A centrist nominee such as Hillary Clinton may not want to run on a progressive platform that leans too far to the left, even if her Republican opponent emerges from the party’s radical right.

President Obama summarized his populist program as “middle-class economics:” new tax credits for earned income, child care, education, retirement savings, and dual-earning couples, as well as free tuition for many community college students. He would pay for these benefits by raising taxes on the richest Americans’ investment income and inherited wealth, and on big banks.

Mr. Obama also repeated his call for a higher federal minimum wage and for greater access to broadband Internet service — a utility, not a luxury. Republicans accuse the President of waging “class warfare.” More precisely, he is not on their side in that war.

The President is correct to call Americans’ attention to the growing problem of income inequality. He, and presumably the GOP as well, are aware of recent polls that show two-thirds of Americans say they are dissatisfied with the distribution of wealth and income in this country.

Yet Democrats’ electoral appeals to middle and working-class Americans to vote in their economic self-interest often have failed. Just as voters demand the repeal of Obamacare even as they express support for the benefits it provides, many favor GOP candidates for reasons that have little to do with economics.

The President’s message this week largely skirted social issues, as well as global affairs. He had little to say about Islamic extremism or the problems that remain in Afghanistan as he prepares to remove U.S. combat troops from that country.

In his address, Mr. Obama reminded GOP lawmakers that if they block his agenda, he will enact as much of it as he can without their support. He has done that already with such actions as his executive order on immigration reform and his administration’s proposals to reduce carbon emissions, improve the fuel economy of cars and trucks, and otherwise limit human-made climate change.

He will want to — and probably have to — continue to do so. It’s understandable that the President wants to contrast his advocacy with Republicans’ lack of cooperation. But his hectoring of lawmakers for their refusal to do their jobs, however accurate, is probably not the best way to elicit a favorable response.

There are major issues on which the President and Congress should be able to work together productively. Expanding trade, improving the nation’s infrastructure, reforming corporate taxation, and promoting research are obvious possibilities. Others exist, if both branches of government will look for what unites them rather than what divides them.

It won’t be easy. House Speaker John Boehner of Ohio and the new Senate majority leader, Mitch McConnell, define compromise as “let’s agree to do things my way.” But Mr. Obama still needs to make the effort, at the risk of frustration.

In this week’s speech, the President remarked that “I have no more campaigns to run ... I know, because I won both of them.” But he and his party need to concede that they lost their last campaign, despite the major economic progress that has occurred during his presidency. For the nation’s good, Mr. Obama and Congress must place passing legislation above defining partisan wedge issues.

First Published January 22, 2015, 5:00 a.m.