State of the Union

I watched my first State of the Union today as a DC'er, a mere 5 miles away from the Capitol.

There was nothing particularly spectacular about the speech (after so many political speeches they all start to sound the same) but the context around this year's State of the Union was interesting. Bush's ratings have dropped +50 points in 5 years, and of course there is a new majority in both Houses of Congress. As a Democrat, and a woman in general, it was very exciting to see Nancy Pelosi sitting up on top. I guess there was reason for Bush to have the somber tone that all the commentators noted.

If you missed the State of the Union or didn't want to sit through all the clapping, you can find the text here. And of course I have to also put the link of the Democratic response. I'll spare you my own analysis because 1) it probably won't be that insightful and 2) I'm really tired. What I will note are some other things that ran through my head as I watched the State of the Union.

• The Sergeant at Arms of Congress has a really cool job (here's a description after wanting to know how they got such a gig). In addition to getting to yell, "The President of the United States," the Sergeant at Arms is also "authorized to arrest and detain any person violating Senate rules, including the President of the United States."
• New commentators said that Momma Pelosi and Daddy Reid reminded all Democratic Congressmembers and Senators to be on their best behavior. While I would hope that our politicians would do this anyway, it was cute.
  
• State of the Unions really need "clap-o-meters," like the ones they have on game shows. You can kind of get a sense about the proposals that get applause from either side (Dems liked the immigration reform while Republicans cringed; Republicans cheered for vouchers and Dems bit their lips), but I would like to see it quantified.
  
• Dick Cheney always looks uncomfortable, especially wearing a purple tie and sitting next to Madame Speaker Pelosi.
  
• This is the only time when you ever see a lot of the different Secretaries in the President's cabinet, like the Secretary of Education (her last name is Spellings, how funny is that?) and the Secretary of Health & Human Services. Who do you think is the person they left in line incase there's a disaster at the Capitol and one of them has to ascend to become the President?
  
• George W. Bush always looks like a little kid when he gets a standing ovation from both sides. It's the look of "Yes, I said something good."
  
• I'm a sap for the public interest stories of the All American Heroes at the end.
  
• 62 breaks for applause in 49 minutes. While it's nice to clap to show support, it would be even better if we could applaud getting these things done. Here's me crossing my fingers that our government will.