If Senator Ted Cruz’s 2016 presidential announcement could be summed up in one word, that word would be “imagine.”

The Texas lawmaker became the first Republican to announce a 2016 candidacy, addressing a raucous crowd of students at Lynchburg, Virginia’s Liberty University on Monday. Channeling John Lennon, Cruz repeatedly exhorted the students to imagine a better federal government.



#related#”Instead of the joblessness, instead of the millions forced into part-time work, instead of the millions who’ve lost their health insurance, lost their doctor, have faced sky-rocketing health insurance premiums,” Cruz said, “imagine in 2017 a new president signing legislation repealing every word of Obamacare.”

“Instead of a tax code that crushes innovation, that imposes burdens on families struggling to make ends meet,” he continued, “imagine a simple flat tax that let’s every American fill out his or her taxes on a postcard! Imagine abolishing the IRS!”

Cruz also promised to secure the border, defend Second Amendment rights and support religious liberty.

But the most powerful applause came when he called on his audience to “imagine a president who stands unapologetically with the nation of Israel” — a not-so-subtle dig at President Obama, whose chilly relationship with Israel’s Benjamin Netanyahu turned ice-cold after the prime minister’s re-election last week.