For my column at The Week, appearing today, my editor asked if I would offer some commentary on the State of the Union speech coming up tonight.  Instead of previewing this particular speech, though, I decided to reflect more on the empty political spectacle of the SOTU and its transformation into a political grocery list and a media-fueled grandstand for both presidents and Congress.  So bad has this trend become that the addresses now rarely describe the actual state of the Union beyond the obligatory “the state of the union is strong!” proclamation and the de rigeur salutes to our military and first responders, but instead almost entirely consist of campaign speeches and demands for more money and more federal jurisdiction and authority.

How far we have traveled from Thomas Jefferson, who eschewed personal appearances in Congress as vaguely monarchical, setting a trend that lasted more than a century until the temptation to grandstand finally drew Woodrow Wilson back to the joint-session appearances.  Jefferson’s 1801 address reads very much like an executive status report — and includes this nugget that would in no way ever appear in modern SOTUs:

“Among those who are dependent on Executive discretion I have begun the reduction of what was deemed unnecessary. The expenses of diplomatic agency have been considerably diminished. The inspectors of internal revenue who were found to obstruct the accountability of the institution have been discontinued. Several agencies created by Executive authorities, on salaries fixed by that also, have been suppressed, and should suggest the expediency of regulating that power by law, so as to subject its exercises to legislative inspection and sanction.”

When was the last time we heard a President tell Congress that not only did he not need agencies in the federal government, but actively “suppressed” them to make the executive branch more accountable to Congress?  Unfortunately, modern SOTU speeches declaim the need for more power and less accountability, regardless of the President or his party affiliation.  To demonstrate that consistency, I have three passages from fairly modern SOTU addresses in the column and challenge readers to name either the President or the party affiliation of each one.  No fair Googling, either!  To find the answers, read through to the end of my column.

The point is that we need a lot more Jefferson than we get these days, including the prior tradition of submitting the status report in writing and keeping it on topic.  If we want grocery lists, we can wait for political campaigns, or simply have Presidents submit their agendas to Congress in the normal fashion and debate the policies when they arise.  We don’t need any more empty pomp and spectacle in Washington DC.