The Theatre of the State of the Union Message

David Fitzsimmons / Arizona Daily Star, Cagle Cartoons

Under the American Constitution, there are comparatively few stated obligations placed on the President. One is that “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 deem expedient.”

So, by tradition, every January the President comes to Congress and delivers a State of the Union speech to a very crowded chamber. Not only are there present members of the House of Representatives and Senators. All members, bar one, of the Cabinet, all the Supreme Court justices and all Joint Chiefs of the armed forces are seated in the chamber. The First and Second Ladies, guests of senior members and other great and good are seated in the gallery. It is quite a sight. Why is one cabinet member left out? If the Capitol is attacked and all members of the administration present are killed, there will be one left to govern.

Some presidents are not good speakers but since the end of World War II, there have been three exceptions, men who can hold an audience. JFK had the benefit of great scriptwriters but he could really deliver a line. Bill Clinton had a folksy way of grabbing an audience. Who else but Bubba would say in his first SoU, “you play the cards you’re dealt.” However, these men are outclassed by Barak Obama who has almost unprecedented oratorical skills. In set piece situations, arguably no-one has been better.

This year, Mr Obama delivered his sixth State of the Union message and the first when the opposition party holds both Houses of Congress. Would he be conciliatory and appeal to Republicans in Congress to look at a different legislative deal? Would he reach out to the moderates of both parties and to the middle class voters who have struggled since the recession? Would he play to the Democratic base? Well, he did all three.

Briefly, he sought to appeal to the Republicans when he suggested employers should prefer veterans of the armed forces in their employment practices. Then, he took a swing at the rich who enjoy tax privileges, suggesting it was wrong for the middle classes to subsidise the wealthy. He wants a big tax hike on rich Americans. I asked myself, why has it taken the Obama administration six years to get nowhere on this issue? He talked about it in SoU 1.

As for the Democratic base, the president said he would now close “Gitmo.” Guantanamo Bay is a prison, a place of potential war crimes, where inmates have few if any rights. At this announcement, the cameras swung to the Joint Chiefs, all looking like thunder. If Gitmo was a simple matter, it would have been dealt with years ago. Then the President talked about education and the expense of attending college. He announced an intention of making Community College free at the point of service. In the US, there is a long-standing tradition of working one’s way through college. This was something of a fantasy Walter Mitty moment as the funding would evidently come from the tax hike on the rich. But the numbers just don’t work.

At times, men and women in the chamber feel obliged to stand and applaud pronouncements. For those of you who have not seen a SoU message, it’s a little like being in a house of religion or a rock concert, where you stand up and sit down like yo-yos. As this is politics, applause is added. Although legislators can sit where they like in the chamber, it’s usual for party members to sit together, so quite often half the chamber stands, whilst the other half looks glum and sullen. Perhaps the real significance is all rise and applaud, across party lines.

The Republicans became animated when the President said, “I have no more campaigns to fight.” There was laughter and a little cheering from their side but Mr Obama went off script, leered at his opponents and said “You’ll remember that I won my last two.” He was referring to his victories over John McCain and Mitt Romney. This brought the Democrats to their feet.

There was much in the speech to be admired. The theme was expansive government action on scientific research, education and the environment within a fast-growing economy, as well as a desire to seek common ground on voting rights and criminal justice, and a proposal to raise taxes on the wealthy to fund college tuition and paid leave for working parents.

What chances are there that the President’s programs will be passed by this Congress? A snowball’s prospects in hell seem to offer better odds. Mr Obama showed, if nothing else, that he was up for a fight. As for the SoU experience, I like the theatrical so I enjoyed the hour of the President’s speech. Does it mean anything in political terms? I very much doubt it.