Can someone please explain to me the endless standing ovations when the President speaks to Congress? Is this something that has evolved over time? I find it painfully annoying. Just let the man speak!
Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Presidential Speech Standing Ovations
Can someone please explain to me the endless standing ovations when the President speaks to Congress? Is this something that has evolved over time? I find it painfully annoying. Just let the man speak!
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5 comments:
Agreed. Nancy Pelosi was like a jack-in-the-box behind Obama. I couldn't even watch it was driving me so crazy.
I had to quit watching after about 15 minutes due to what appeared to be scripted standing ovations. It almost looked like N Pelosi was reading the pamplet on when to jump up!!
Most politicians at this level have all their moves scripted. The State of the Union address is NOT the President speaking to the rest of the government about the state of the Union, it is a scripted production for the television viewing audience. Period. The President is a performer for the camera and the rest of the politicians in the room are performers for the camera. The clapping, standing, etc. is all carefully planned out by the respective parties to play to their constituents. Anyone who thinks otherwise is naive.
I agree totally that it is way too much. But isn't that reflective of Washington's excessiveness in everything?
Ya - I did hear that it is much like that. The attendees in the room all have advance copies of the speech (as do the press and others) and have sections where it's agreed by the parties where they will stand in support or in some cases NOT stand. Like I guess the republicans had all agreed in unison to unanimously NOT stand during the part about extending health care benefits for children of families without health care, or something like that. (hmmmm . . . I don't get that, but anyway, what I heard in a conversation on radio about this the other day.)
I think the idea of the standing ovations and applause go back to the era before radio and TV where public/press listened outside the doors and building - and the amount of applause signified how popular the president was and the demeanor of the speech/country etc. Just a guess anyway.
A lot of it is ceremonial/traditional in nature
From Answers.com
A ceremonial occasion
Much ceremony accompanies the State of the Union message. Members of the Senate march in procession the length of the Capitol from the Senate to the larger House chamber. Members of the cabinet and the Supreme Court take seats in the front rows of the chamber, and honored guests fill the galleries. The House doorkeeper loudly announces: “Mr. Speaker, the President of the United States,” and members rise for a standing ovation. Unlike the British Parliament, whose members listen in respectful silence to their monarch's annual address, members of Congress punctuate a President's message with applause. Members from the President's party heartily cheer his proposals, while members of the opposition party remain quietly restrained. Modern Presidents have taken the opportunity to talk beyond Congress, to address the nation as a whole as a means of stimulating public support for their programs in the legislative battles that lie ahead.
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