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In Focus: State of the Union 2007 President Bush delivered his State of the Union address on the evening of January 23 to Congress, the nation and a worldwide television and Internet audience.
The U.S. Constitution requires that the president report to Congress "from time to time" on the "State of the Union." This constitutional requirement has evolved into the president's annual State of the Union address, which now serves several purposes. The speech reports on the condition of the United States both domestically and internationally, recommends a legislative agenda for the coming year and gives the president the opportunity to convey personally his vision for the nation.
For the first time since taking office in January 2000, President Bush spoke to a Congress in which both chambers are controlled by the opposition. For the president to implement any proposals, he must work with Democrats on a bipartisan basis.
President Bush delivered a different type of State of the Union with a more focused look at a few key initiatives, most of them domestic. The President called for spending discipline and a balanced federal budget. His most extensively previewed plan centered on a tax reform aimed at making health insurance more affordable for Americans with low incomes. In addition, Bush's speech also focused on energy, calling for a huge government-mandated increase in renewable fuels; education, immigration, and the war on terror.
Just two weeks ago, Bush delivered a major address announcing the "new way forward" in Iraq, including a plan to add more than 20,000 US troops to try to bring some stability to Baghdad and areas where insurgents are believed to be operating. Bush addressed the criticism of his plan in his State of the Union speech. “[O]ur military commanders and I have carefully weighed the options. We discussed every possible approach. In the end, I chose this course of action because it provides the best chance of success. Many in this chamber understand that America must not fail in Iraq – because you understand that the consequences of failure would be grievous and far reaching.”
HistoryFrom 1790 to 1934, the constitutionally-mandated presidential address was formally known as the Annual Message. George Washington delivered the first Annual Message of the President to Congress on January 8, 1790 to a joint session of the House and Senate in New York City (then the capital of the United States). Both Washington and John Adams, the second President of the United States, delivered the address to Congress in person. However, President Thomas Jefferson, consistent with his aversion to any practice that resembled British royal behavior, sent his annual messages to Congress in writing.
Since Washington's first speech to Congress, the Annual Message of the President has varied in method of delivery, in length, and in frequency from President to President and era to era. Early Annual Messages of the President included agency budget requests and general reports on the health of the economy. In the 19th century, the annual message often also included a lengthy administrative report on the various departments of the executive and a budget and economic message.
During the crisis that, more than any other, threatened the very existence of the American union -- the Civil War -- Abraham Lincoln wrote perhaps the most eloquent and memorable of all presidential messages sent to Congress. "In giving freedom to the slave, we assure freedom to the free -- honorable alike in what we give and what we preserve," wrote Lincoln in 1862.
The first President to revive Washington's spoken precedent was Woodrow Wilson in 1913. President Wilson is widely credited with expanding the scope of the annual message, transforming it from a report on the activities of the executive departments into a blueprint for the President’s legislative program for the coming congressional session and year.
Although some historians suggest that the phrase “State of the Union” emerged only after World War II, President Franklin Roosevelt’s 1934 message is identified in his papers as his “Annual Message to Congress on the State of the Union.”
Technological changes -- radio, television, and the Internet – also developed the State of the Union into a forum for the president to speak directly to the American people. In 1966, Senator Everett Dirksen and Representative Gerald Ford made a televised joint Republican response to President Johnson’s message; a practice that has since become a regular feature and is usually broadcast shortly after the President has completed his remarks.
The State of the Union Message is now customarily delivered at the Capitol, in the chamber of the House of Representatives, before a joint session of both houses of Congress.
In a recent innovation initiated by President Ronald Reagan, the Chief Executive will frequently invite citizens who have distinguished themselves in some field to be his personal guests in the gallery. Usually, the achievements or programs for which he publicly salutes them also serve to underscore some major element of his message.
The 2007 address marked the 218th Annual Message or State of the Union address and the 74th such address delivered in person. Both American and overseas observers listened closely to the president's words as he outlined his vision for the nation in the upcoming year and beyond.
(January 24, 2007)
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