State of the Union

President Trump to address Congress, nation

President Donald Trump surely has a busy week. Monday were the Iowa Caucuses. And on Wednesday the U.S. Senate will vote whether to convict him on impeachment charges.

There’s no rest tonight, either. For this evening President Trump will enter the chamber of the House of Representatives in the U.S. Capitol to deliver his third State of the Union address.

The Constitution does not require the president to deliver the address in person and for much of history it wasn’t. Our third president, Thomas Jefferson, would send a written State of the Union to be read before Congress by a humble clerk

Jefferson’s view held for more than a century, until Woodrow Wilson chose to appear before Congress to deliver the address in 1913. Since then, most State of the Union addresses have been made in person, with a few exceptions. No president has sent a written address since Jimmy Carter in 1981.

The State of the Union address itself is steeped in tradition. The president must be formally invited by both the House and the Senate before he can enter. The House Sergeant at Arms announces the president’s arrival. He speaks to assembled members of both the House and Senate, the vice president, the Cabinet, the Supreme Court justices, the U.S. Armed Forces Joint Chiefs of Staff, and personal and honored guests.

As in years past, one Cabinet member will not attend. This is the designated survivor, who stays away to provide leadership and continuity in case some catastrophe strikes the gathering.

The speech itself gives the president the opportunity to boast of his administration’s successes over the past year and outline his plans for the year ahead. And, from time to time, a president also offers a mea culpa for some mishap or misstep.

Some say the State of the Union has become little more than political puffery by all concerned. We don’t entirely disagree. Still, it is important to hear what the president — and the opposing party — have to say, if only for a preview of battles ahead in the year to come.