Opinion: Making the State of the Union Written Again Could Refocus Politics on Policy Over Theater
• The State of the Union address has become an overly partisan and uncivil spectacle that divides rather than unites. Shouting matches and demonstrations of contempt undermine serious deliberation.
• Presidents use the televised address to make rhetorical appeals over the heads of Congress to court public support and pressure Congress, contrary to the Founders' vision.
• Thomas Jefferson ended the early practice of oral delivery, seeing it as too "monarchical," but Woodrow Wilson brought it back to expand presidential rhetoric and leadership.
• Turning the address back into a written message to Congress would refocus it as an element of actual policy deliberation rather than political theater.
• Ending the divisive televised spectacle would be a small step toward restoring a system of government by serious deliberation rather than populism.