Growls

Gene Healy, a vice president at the Cato Institute, had a very good column in yesterday’s DC Examiner (also here at the Cato website), prior to President Obama’s first address to a joint session of Congress. Healy provides a historical view of State of the Union (SOTU) speeches delivered by U.S. presidents. For example, he writes:

“Our founding fathers didn't want a president who'd perpetually pound the bully pulpit.  They viewed presidential speechifying as a sign of demagoguery, and thought Congress should take the lead on most matters of national policy.  They expected the nation's chief executive to pipe down, mind his constitutional business, and keep his hands to himself.

“The "permanent campaign" that dominates modern presidential politics would have appalled our forefathers. Accepting the 1844 Democratic nomination, James K. Polk described the custom of the time: "the office of president of the United States should neither be sought nor declined." (emphasis added)

“When 19th-century candidates spoke publicly, they sometimes felt compelled to apologize, as 1872 Democratic contender Horace Greeley did, for breaking "the unwritten law of our country that a candidate for President may not make speeches." (emphasis added)

“From Washington to Jackson, presidents gave about three speeches a year on average. In his first year in office, President Clinton gave over 600. Things have changed, but it's not clear they've changed for the better.” (emphasis added)

Healy further writes:

“In early SOTUs, presidents rarely went on at Castro-like length.  George Washington's first SOTU was a humble affair, just over 1000 words, devoid of imperious demands for congressional action.

“That wasn't humble enough for President Thoma Jefferson, however, who disapproved of his two predecessors giving the SOTU in person before Congress assembled.  Jefferson saw that practice as "an English habit, tending to familiarize the public with monarchical ideas," much like the British king's "speech from the throne."

“So our third president wrote out his SOTU speeches and had them hand-delivered to Congress. The Jeffersonian custom held for over 100 years, until the power-hungry Woodrow Wilson overthrew it. Of 219 SOTUs, only 71 have been delivered in person.” (emphasis added)

Saying that “(i)t's hard to imagine the camera-and-mike-hungry Barack Obama simply "mailing it in," he suggests the president “ought to think about making himself a little scarcer and pounding the pulpit less,” and concludes saying:

“There was wisdom in the old ways.  A president who talks less might be able to make his words matter more. And a president who promises less might be able to deliver more of what he promises.”