A reality based independent journal of observation & analysis, serving the Flathead Valley & Montana since 2006. © James Conner.
Tonight, President Obama delivers what reportedly will be his last State of the Union address. It need not be. He doesn’t leave office until noon on 20 January 2017, so it seems to me that he’s constitutionally permitted, although perhaps not obligated (Article II, Section 3), to report on the state of the union a year from now. He need not deliver a speech to a joint session of Congress. He could send a written report to Congress and post a copy on the White House’s website.
I won’t be listening to his address tonight. His oratorical style annoys me; always has. Furthermore, the format of the SOTU annoys me. It’s more political spectacle than speech; Obama hates giving it, and his failure to hide his displeasure makes listening a double ordeal.
Nor do I wish to see reaction shots of scofflaw Kim Davis and the other guests who were invited — both by the White House and Congress — to personify political points. It’s a practice that cheapens the event.
Citizens have a duty to know what’s in the SOTU. Illiterates must watch or at least listen. Everyone else has the option of reading the transcript.
Reading is what I’ll be doing, quaffing a stiff one before perusing the transcript, and having the chemicals for more stiff ones in reserve. I don’t know yet whether I’ll inflict commentary on you tomorrow.