State of the Union Day

Well folks, tonight President Bush will deliver his State of the Union address to Congress. This annual event is one of the few times that the U.S. president is allowed to enter the congressional chambers, and is traditionally a time when he (possibly "she" in the near future) outlines the administration's accomplishments over the previous year, as well as the agenda for the coming year in upbeat and optimistic terms.

The premise for this speech is Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution which says:

"[The President] shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient."

The first such address was delivered by George Washington on January 8, 1790 in New York City. Thomas Jefferson thought the idea of the address being given in person was too monarchical, so he began the practice of delivering a letter to Congress for them to read, which lasted until 1913 when Woodrow Wilson delivered his address in person. Since then, with few exceptions (including Carter's written address in 1981), the address has been delivered in person in the form of a speech.

The term "State of the Union Address" came to popular use after Franklin Roosevelt's 1935 address. Before then is was called "the President's Annual Message to Congress."







The White House (as is customary) will not give details about the speech tonight other than to say that the President is preparing for the speech (shown here with study materials.)











But, it is generally agreed that he will come off looking something like the image at left, and won't mention that his approval rating has hit an all-time low, or that 2/3 of the American public oppose his new Iraqimization policy.

He also will most likely not mention the 27 American troops killed in Iraq over the weekend. Or the bombs that killed at least 88 Iraqis as the first part of "the surge" arrived in Iraq.

Though not sure of any of the details of Georgie's speech, I am relatively sure that it will embody the message that he has been giving Americans and the rest of the World for some time now. A message which is beautifully illustrated by the picture below.