…..or shall I say, the State of Disunion.
As a political junkie/reporter, I must admit that this is one of my favorite annual political events. Jon Stewart recently did a brilliant skit creating two rival characters – “First Term Bush” and “Second Term Bush” – using old, contradictory clips of Bush from both terms, many of those clips coming directly from his previous State of the Union addresses. It is extremely telling that Bush today has the lowest approval rating since Nixon had during the Watergate affair. ‘Tis a sign of the times, no doubt. Luckily, most analysts suspect tonight’s speech will be nothing more than a recap of the last 7 years plus some words to ease concerns over the economy. Thank goodness — I don’t think this country can handle any more of President Bush’s bright ideas. In the meantime, here are some interesting facts about the State of the Union address:
(Reuters) – When President George W. Bush gives his State of the Union speech on Monday, he will continue a constitutionally mandated tradition begun over 200 years ago by George Washington.
Following are some key facts about presidential State of the Union messages:
ORIGINS:
* State of the Union messages to Congress by the president are required by Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution which says, “He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the state of the union, and recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.”
* The State of the Union has become an annual speech given before a joint session of Congress in the House of Representatives chamber at the U.S. Capitol.
* George Washington gave the first State of the Union speech on January 8, 1790 in New York City, then the provisional U.S. capital.
* Starting with Thomas Jefferson’s first State of the Union in 1801 until William Howard Taft’s last message in 1912, the State of the Union was a written report sent to Congress. Woodrow Wilson resumed the tradition of giving the State of the Union message in a speech to Congress.
* The phrase “State of the Union” did not become widely used until after 1935, when Franklin Roosevelt started using the term.
* SOME QUOTES:
– “We look forward to a world founded upon four essential human freedoms. The first is freedom of speech and expression — everywhere in the world. The second is freedom of every person to worship God in his own way — everywhere in the world. The third is freedom from want — which, translated into world terms, means economic understandings which will secure to every nation a healthy peacetime life for its inhabitants — everywhere in the world. The fourth is freedom from fear.” — Franklin Roosevelt, January 6, 1941.
– “As you know, I have provided to the special prosecutor voluntarily a great deal of material. I believe that I have provided all the material that he needs to conclude his investigations … I believe the time has come to bring that investigation and the other investigations of this matter to an end. One year of Watergate is enough.” — Richard Nixon, January 30, 1974.
– “Yes, we will have our differences. But let us always remember — what unites us far outweighs whatever divides us. Those who sent us here to serve them — the millions of Americans watching and listening tonight — expect this of us. Let’s prove to them and to ourselves that democracy works even in an election year.” — Ronald Reagan, January 25, 1988.
– “Some time in the next 10 to 20 years, the major security threat this country will face will come from the enemies of the nation state: the narco-traffickers and the terrorists and the organized criminals, who will be organized together, working together, with increasing access to ever-more sophisticated chemical and biological weapons.” — Bill Clinton, January 27, 2000.
Wanderlust... 