As a kid I used to hate it when the President would be on TV because it interrupted my regular viewing. And when you only had 10 channels or so, and they all showed the President, there weren’t many options. As I got older I realized the importance of addresses like the SotU, but now I’m not so sure this address is useful or relevant any more. Fifty years ago (or 100 years ago) information and news were not so easy to come by as they are now. An address by the President was actually a vehicle for him to inform the public of his goals and accomplishments. But with the Internet and 900 24-hour cable networks, what’s the point? I guarantee you that President Bush will say nothing tonight that 90% of the public doesn’t already know. It will be nothing more than a pep rally, a 3-hour address with about 1.5 hours taken up with meaningless applause by people who don’t really mean it (on both sides of the aisle). In other words, I think the SotU has outlived its usefulness and become a relic of a time when information was not so readily available.
Having said that, if W used the SotU as an opportunity to heap scorn and shame upon Congressional Democrats, then it might regain some relevance… heh heh heh… I don’t look for that to happen, though…
The SotU is similar to a CEO of a company setting out the vision for where the company needs to go and to set out some specifics. Is it still relevant or needed? I think so. I loved the Reagan SotU’s… And W did a very good job.
I thought the Dems were complete children when they applauded the fact that W’s attempts to *face the music* regarding the entitlement programs’ future, ended up fizzling. So they were *happy* that the Congress did nothing to forestall the American public is heading for a trainwreck in terms of SS, Medicaid, etc. Sometimes I wonder if some of those people shouldn’t just pick up and leave the USA for some country that is better than the country they live in and love to hate.