Gene Healy offers a rubuke and a history lesson on the exercise in political excess that is the State of the Union address:

The Constitution requires that the president “from time to time give to the Congress Information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient.” But it does not mandate the modern ritual of the State of the Union, which consists of a passel of promises and demands on the public fisc, greeted with repeated standing ovations from members of a coordinate branch. That ritual reflects the growing dominance of the presidency in our political system, and our retreat from limited, constitutional government.

In contrast, early presidents often struck a note of modesty and self-restraint: after his third State of the Union, Washington wrote that “motives of delicacy” had deterred him “from introducing any topick which relates to legislative matters, lest it should be suspected that he wished to influence the question before it.”

[...]

Our first two presidents delivered their annual messages to Congress in person before both houses. But Jefferson regarded that practice as “an English habit, tending to familiarize the public with monarchical ideas,” and he put a stop to it, choosing instead to send his annual message in writing. For 112 years, presidents conformed to Jefferson’s example, until the power-hungry Woodrow Wilson delivered his first annual message in person to Congress assembled.

[...]

Washington most often referred to the office he held as the mere “chief magistrate”; modern presidents tend to prefer the title “Commander in Chief,” and at times seem to forget that that title merely makes the president commander of the U.S. armed forces, not commander of the nation as a whole.

[...]

n this age of television and presidential government, it’s perhaps too much to expect a revival of the humble republican custom initiated by Jefferson. But when Tuesday night’s ritual is done, one hopes that Congress can set about the business of reining in an increasingly imperial presidency.

I’d advise against holding your breath.

This entry was posted on Tuesday, January 31st, 2006 at 8:23 am by Radley Balko and is filed under Uncategorized. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.