Watching the State of the Union

This week I was assigned the task of watching the State of the Union on television while a portion of my class read the newspapers and another portion followed the blogs. It is amazing how experiences with these different media change our perception and understanding of a single event.

I enjoyed watching the speech. I typically try to watch the State of the Union because I feel like I am witnessing a part of history. Watching the speech live also allows one to note the tone and expressions of the President and gage Congress' response.

This year, I was a bit distracted by Joe Biden's odd expressions, Nancy Pelosi's apparent discomfort and my very conservative roommate’s comments on just about every point Obama made. (Apparently if your uncle went to Harvard, you're automatically an expert on public policy.)

But overall, I feel like I learned from my experience. I think the President is worried about his diminishing support and that the national focus is shifting away from healthcare. Although he alone cannot accomplish all the points he laid out, I think that he has set the agenda for what Congress will debate in the next year.

However, I thought this was not one of his best speeches. He was more caustic than usual, seemingly blaming the Senate for delaying action, the Republicans for blocking measures for the sake of blocking them and the Democrats for not moving things along.

Most of all, I was unhappy with his remarks regarding the Supreme Court decision in Citizens United v. Federal Election Commission. He had already expressed his discontent with their decision and I believe that the State of the Union was not an appropriate time to do so again.

But I did not notice Justice Alito's whispered response, "not true." While watching a live speech, it is difficult to pick up on some of the subtleties. It can also be difficult to comprehend the political implications of the different points. So I think my experience would have been enhanced by additional newspaper or blog coverage.

Next year I will most likely watch the State of the Union on television and follow the blogs and Tweets to enhance my experience and understanding.