The worst TV show in the nation is the State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress. It is filled with nothing but nonsense. President Trump delivered a nearly two-hour snore fest of epic proportions yesterday, made worse by his age and his obvious increasing inability to entertain. His schtick has lost its luster. I tried watching it this morning and could only get through 45 minutes. Frankly, I am surprised I lasted that long. For the good of the nation, cancel this program.
The format has worn thin, and under Trump it is nearly transparent. The party in power wastes time applauding nothing, while the opposition sits there like a group of unpatriotic fools. Instead of an accurate portrayal of the state of the nation, we get a long litany of supposed accomplishments and platitudes about where the country is headed. It is cliché and tired.
The worst parts are at the very beginning, when it takes five to ten minutes for the president to walk in while sycophants scramble to the center aisle for screen time, licking at the president’s boot heels, and throughout the speech when the president makes announcements showcasing people in the gallery. Who the fuck cares anymore? It feels dirty that people allow themselves to be used as props to make the sitting president look good.
Since President Ford, decorum has gone out the window. It should come as no surprise that the Democratic Party started the decline. During Ford’s speech, a group of Democrats walked out of the chamber before he even began speaking as a protest over post-Watergate politics. It took a while, but it was followed by a chorus of boos during George W. Bush’s speech in 2004 after he called for renewing the Patriot Act, which I would also like repealed. Then in 2005, again during Bush’s speech, there were howls, hisses, and shouts of “No!” when he pushed for Social Security reform. The Republicans are no better. In 2009, a Republican shouted at Barack Obama, “You lie!” during his speech. He later apologized, but it was clear the gloves were off and the nation was headed down a long slide in decency. This behavior is rude and un-American. We are not the British Parliament, where there is a tradition of grumbling and hurling insults during sessions.
At the beginning of our nation, President George Washington started the practice. It was carried forward by John Adams. Thomas Jefferson ended it because he believed the speech felt too king-like. Instead of appearing before a joint session of Congress, Jefferson delivered a letter. That remained standard practice for more than 100 years. A Democrat, President Woodrow Wilson, revived the in-person address in 1913. Ten years later, in 1923, it was first broadcast on radio, and in 1947 the first episode of this God forsaken series aired. Enough is enough.
Now that we have surpassed another 100 years of this dog and pony show, it is time to go back to releasing it as a letter. No more joint sessions. No more needless cheerleading. And, for the love of God, no more opposition party response, which is the only broadcast worse than the State of the Union itself.
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