http:// what is the state of the union address?
TRANSCRIPT
http://www.c-spanvideo.org/clip/38714
What is the State of the Union Address?
Tuesday Night – 9:00 PM• On all the major channels
• Watch for people’s reactions!
• What are the major topics????
• Earn Extra Credit points!• President Obama will update Americans on the most important
issues facing our country in his State of the Union Address on
Tuesday February 28, at 9 pm ET.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sotu
State of the Union Address
Article 2, Section 3 . . .
“He shall 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”
How does it start?
Ordinarily, the President himself is not permitted to enter the House Chamber without the explicit permission of Congress and for each State of the Union address in which the President is going to read his remarks, a formal "invitation" is made.
As tradition requires, House Speaker John Boehner invited the president to speak to a joint session of Congress.
Before the speech
• Before the speech begins, there will be commentary by the reporters on tv.
• They will likely be talking about . . . • the topics to be discussed • pointing out the different people that are
in the room.• Listen closely, as they will probably be
mentioning which member of the President’s Cabinet is not in attendance (on purpose) this year.
• Seating arrangements (more about this later)
• Supreme Court (will discuss later)
President waits to be announced House Chamber
The President is announced
The President's presence upon entering the House chamber is ceremoniously announced by the U.S. House Sergeant at Arms, who calls out, "Mr. (Madam) Speaker, the President of the United States!"
The President enters
The President enters the chamber to a standing ovation and spends several minutes greeting members of Congress and walking toward the podium at the front and center of the House chamber.
President Obama greets members of Congress
The President Enters - 2013
President George W. Bush shakes the hand of Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson as he arrives on the House floor at the U.S. Capitol Monday, Jan. 28, 2008, to deliver his 2008 State of the Union address. Looking on are Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts.
A previous year, President Bush enters the room and shakes hands.
Copies of the Speech
Once there, the President hands copies of the address to the Vice President of the United States (as President of the Senate) and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, both of whom sit behind the President for the duration of the speech. If either is unavailable, the next highest-ranking member of the respective house substitutes.
A previous year
presenting the written speech to the Speaker of the House
Vice President
Speaker of the House
President
This is what it looked like in a previous year
Who is in the audience?
Sitting near the front of the chamber are
• the members of the Joint Chiefs of Staff
• the Justices of the Supreme Court
• the members of the President's Cabinet.
• Customarily, one cabinet member (the
designated survivor) does not attend, in order to
provide continuity in the line of succession in the
event that a catastrophe disables the President, the
Vice President, and other succeeding officers
gathered in the House chamber.
• also present, Members of Congress
A previous year
2013
Supreme Court Justices - 2013
The President’s Cabinet – July 2012
The Press - 2013
Plus One - 2013Each member of Congress is allowed to bring one guest.
Gabrielle Giffords
Mark Kelly
Tony Bennett
TedNugent
Designated Survivor - 2013
• The member of the president’s cabinet who does not attend the address in case of a catastrophic event, in order to maintain a continuity of government is called the Designated Survivor
• The Designated Survivor for the 2013 SOTU Address was Secretary of Energy, Dr. Steven Chu
In previous years, the room was divided by political party.
Recently, it has been different!
Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas
Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass
Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz
Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M
Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn
Seating was mixed in 2013
From left, Sen. John McCain (R-Ariz.), Sen. Chuck Schumer (D-N.Y.) and Sen. Lindsey Graham (R-S.C.)
sit together.
So were the reactions
The Speech – what is it about?
• In the State of the Union the President traditionally outlines the administration's accomplishments over the previous year,
• as well as the agenda for the coming year in upbeat and optimistic terms.
• At some point during the speech, the President usually says "The State of our Union is strong" or a very similar phrase.
• Since the 1982 address, it has also become common for the President to acknowledge special guests sitting near the First Lady in the gallery, such as everyday Americans or visiting Heads of State.
• The guests are usually relevant to some part of the President's speech.
Michelle Obama
Laura Bush
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sotu
The Exit2013
State of the Union goes INTERACTIVE
Join us and watch a live enhanced broadcast featuring charts, graphs
and data that will help you understand his policies.
http://www.whitehouse.gov/blog/2014/01/21/one-week-today-state-union-2014
From the White House website www.wh.govInteractive “Social Media”
Facebook – TwitterInstagram #insideSOTU
iPhone and Smart phone appslive streaming, charts, graphs and much
more!
The Enhanced Online Version
http://www.whitehouse.gov/sotu
EXTRA CREDIT
• 6 points available• 1 point - parent signature
• 1 point – which Cabinet member is not
there?
• 2 points – topics: write down 2 topics
discussed (1 point each)
• 2 points - your reactions and thoughts: (1
point each)
Top 10 http://www.usatoday.com/story/news/politics/2014/01/26/state-of-the-union-speech-constitution/4658119/
What to watch for tonight
http://www.politico.com/multimedia/video/2014/01/what-to-watch-in-the-state-of-the-union---politicos-turn-the-table.html