Advice to President Obama on the State of the Union Address

The Constitution of the United States (Article 2, Section 3) states that the President "shall from time to time give to the Congress Information on the State of the Union".

Nothing in that clause requires the President to give a speech to a joint session of Congress. but Presidents Washington and Adams did choose to speak to the Congress. Beginning, however, with the third President (Thomas Jefferson - elected in 1801) and continuing through the presidency of William Howard Taft (1909 - 1913), Presidents contented themselves with a written message.

Yesterday President Obama gave the now traditional State of the Union Address to a Joint Session of the Congress. As usual, it was boring, took far too long (over an hour) and, given the size and complexity of our country, was woefully incomplete.

All those, not just Presidents of the United States, who venture to speak in public, would do well to remember this advice, provided by President Franklin Delano Roosevelt:

“The key to a good speech? Three things. Be clear. Be brief. Be seated.”

The Constitutional requirement to provide information to the Congress can, and should, be met with a detailed written document. What the nation needs from the President is not a laundry list of statuses, programs and policies but a speech that informs, encourages, uplifts and unites.

In short, this was an opportunity for leadership which President Obama, like so many before him, simply squandered.

What a waste!