State of the Union is state of the art

It began as a mere written report -- just a few pages informing the U.S. Congress about important issues facing the country. Today, presidents verbally deliver it in front of a special joint session of Congress and on national television.

- Martin J. Medhurst
coordinator, Program in Presidential Rhetoric at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service

Broadcasters note everything from the color of the president's tie to the people between whom the First Lady sits.

"Television has opened up a whole new opportunity for presidents to reach millions of people for 30 to 60 minutes of free air time," said Martin J. Medhurst, coordinator for Program in Presidential Rhetoric at the George Bush School of Government and Public Service, Texas.

The ability to speak to that many people has changed the purpose of the speech. Originally, the speech informed the public about the president's political agenda.

But today, the State of the Union Address has many purposes, said Richard Gregg, professor of speech communication. The address is a rare occasion when the representatives of the three branches of the government -- both houses of Congress, the president and the Supreme Court -- gather under one roof.

It is also a time when the president asserts his role in governing the country, reaffirms American values and outlines his goals and programs for the next year, Gregg said.

In an election year, the president can use it to posture, as Clinton did in 1996, Medhurst said. According to the PoliticsNow Web site, Clinton has used it to improve his popularity rating during the Whitewater scandal and the Republican Revolution.

Television has also changed the way in which the speeches are written. Many presidents from the 18th and 19th centuries wrote their State of the Union Addresses themselves. But beginning with Franklin Roosevelt, modern presidents have a "stable of speech writers" ranging anywhere from a team of three or four to a group of nine, Medhurst said.

"What usually happens is that you get a writer to draft certain sections like agriculture or education, but there is no controlling voice, no direction," he said. "Then, someone must bring order to that mess."

Good State of the Union addresses go through those motions, Medhurst said. However, one speech writer usually assembles all the information, like Dwight D. Eisenhower did in 1954. And when that happens, great speeches are made, Medhurst said.

Modern presidential speech writers have also crafted the sound bite -- a short phrase that the media will cut and replay later on in the night.

Presidents know they are guaranteed about 15 seconds in the nightly news. As a result, speech writers draft catch phrases such as Lyndon B. Johnson's "We shall overcome" or John F. Kennedy's "Ask not what your country can do for you, ask what you can do for your country."

However, Medhurst is not sure if Clinton will be remembered for his sound bites, which include "I feel your pain."

Instead, Clinton's oratory strengths are his abilities to identify with people, talk off the top of his head and clearly explain complex matters.

"People believe in Clinton," Medhurst said.

"Any speaker who can identify with people on such an emotional level is going to be successful," he added.

Like Ronald Reagan, Clinton speaks well to small groups -- "whether it is a group of African-Americans, rural whites or people from Harvard," Medford noted.

Clinton also has a gift for teaching the American public about policy issues.

When Clinton spoke at the University last summer, Gregg said, he carefully explained how the community must provide for the general welfare.

Undergraduate Student Government President Sharon Entenberg can identify with this. When she presents her weekly reports to USG Senate, she said she must keep in mind her audience -- the senators, students and the media.

"It's in my nature to go on and on," she said. "I try to focus on making things simple, to the point."