The Silliest Speech in the Union

[kurth]

The Silliest Speech in the Union
What's wrong with the president's annual address.
By John Dickerson
Posted Monday, Jan. 30, 2006, at 3:06 PM ET

George Bush is being criticized for acting like a king as he asserts extraordinary new powers for his office. So it would be clever political theater if this week he delivered his State of the Union address on paper. He could emulate Thomas Jefferson, who in 1801 mailed his speech in, arguing that the ceremony smacked too much of the British monarchy.

Today, Jefferson would weep. Tuesday night, by tradition, the Senate sergeant-at-arms will herald the president's arrival as if Bush were riding in a sedan chair. Then as the president makes his way to the well of the House of Representatives, members of Congress will pat him and moon at him and shake his hand like children trying to win a prize. Many of them will have skipped dinner to position themselves on the aisle so they can be seen touching Bush in prime time. Leaders who command this kind of sucking-up are usually the kind the president singles out as candidates for regime change.

Since 1913, when Woodrow Wilson reversed Jefferson's practice and delivered the speech himself, presidents have been developing the constitutionally mandated report into political theater. In 1966 Lyndon Johnson moved the address into prime time. This caused Republicans to insist on the first of the puny out-party responses. Now, we are left with a speech known for its outsized promises, tiresome applause interruptions, and flabby rhetoric.

It doesn't have to be this way. Many of the traditions that ruin the night serve no good purpose. They can be snipped out to shorten the speech and forestall the childish behavior politicians seem to think is also constitutionally mandated. Here's how we can get rid of the three greatest excesses weighing down the State of the Union:

http://www.slate.com/id/2135101/

[Inland]

1. It exists for congress to kowtow to Bush, witnessed by the nation.

"Look at us, we are for everything he is for. I'm clapping louder than McCain, I am, I am!"

[bryant69]

2. our friend, the word "at"

Think about how this section would read without this important but often overlooked word.

"members of congress will pat him and moon at him and shake his hand like children trying to win a prize"

Thank you "at."

I wish i could pat the president. I'm not sure where I would pat him, but it would definately be someone on his person.

Bryant
Check it out --> http://politicalcomment.blogspot.com