After reading Stephen Walt's blog entry on the SOTU, I thought I would share a quick note.
The much anticipated State of the Union address, in my mind, is not worth watching. Sure, the speech is great to read afterward as a basic map so the world knows what the US government is openly testifying it is attempting to do, but let's face the reality of the SOTU:
No one wants to sit through all that applause.
For this very reason, I won't be watching, but if you do, you can look at the faces of all those individuals in the room as round after round of applause breaks out. I would watch for eye twitching and irritability after the first entirely-too-long break for applause and then for each subsequent burst. People cannot genuinely smile that long.
Beyond the frivolous applause, to go with Walt, how much of the SOTU speech is all for show? True, Obama is great at delivering moving oratories. However, what has he accomplished, and what will he be able to accomplish in the future that he will claim in this address?
Talk, talk, talk. Talk is cheap and can lull you to sleep; walking's where the action is.
Well, apparently with the new seating arrangement, this year there was less applause. Not that it makes me any more likely to watch. It has always seemed like a political pep rally to me.
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