Existing comment:
The State of the Union address is our only constitutionally-mandated piece of political theater.
Every year the President delivers an address in writing or in person to Congress.
This has two important purposes, one explicit, the other implicit.
The explicit reason for the address is for the president to formally summarize the challenges facing the nation.
This is the literal "state" of the nation.
The president then outlines policies in response and a legislative agenda is recommended for Congress to consider.
One could argue however that the implicit role of the address is far more important.
By requiring that the president report "from time to time" to Congress as Article II Section 3 of the Constitution requires, the framers of the Constitution instituted a formal practice designed to demonstrate that the President must make himself regularly accountable to the democratically elected legislature.
As such the address reminds us that in our republic, Congress is sovereign.
We the people,
not
I the president. |