State of the Union Address Article 2, Section 3... “ He shall from time to time give to the Congress information of the State of the Union, and recommend to their Consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient”

Tonight 1/24/2012– 9:00 PM **falls between the South Carolina and Florida presidential Primaries On all the major channels Watch for people’s reactions! What are the major topics???? Earn Extra Credit points! From the White House website Interactive Facebook, Twitter, iPhone app, live streaming and much more!

Before the speech Before the speech begins, there will be commentary by the reporters on tv. They will likely be talking about... the topics to be discussed and pointing out the different people that are in the room. Listen closely, as they will probably be mentioning which member of the President’s Cabinet is not in attendance (on purpose) this year. Seating arrangements (more about this later) Supreme Court (will discuss later)

How does it start? Ordinarily, the President himself is not permitted to enter the House Chamber without the explicit permission of Congress and for each State of the Union address in which the President is going to read his remarks, a formal "invitation" is made. As tradition requires, House Speaker John Boehner invited the president to speak to a joint session of Congress. “In the coming year, Republicans will continue our efforts to create an environment for economic growth and job creation, and we welcome an opportunity to hear your new ideas for working with the Congress. Therefore, I am privileged to invite you to deliver an address on the State of the Union on January 24, 2012, before a Joint Session of Congress.” The White House accepted.

President waits to be announced House Chamber

The President is announced 2011 The President's presence upon entering the House chamber is ceremoniously announced by the U.S. House Sergeant at Arms, who calls out, "Mr. (Madam) Speaker, the President of the United States!"U.S. House Sergeant at Arms

The President enters 2011 The President enters the chamber to a standing ovation and spends several minutes greeting members of Congress and walking toward the podium at the front and center of the House chamber.standing ovation

President Obama greets members of Congress 2011

President George W. Bush shakes the hand of Secretary of Treasury Henry Paulson as he arrives on the House floor at the U.S. Capitol Monday, Jan. 28, 2008, to deliver his 2008 State of the Union address. Looking on are Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice and U.S. Supreme Court Chief Justice John Roberts. A previous year, President Bush enters the room and shakes hands.

Copies of the Speech Once there, the President hands copies of the address to the Vice President of the United States (as President of the Senate) and the Speaker of the House of Representatives, both of whom sit behind the President for the duration of the speech. If either is unavailable, the next highest-ranking member of the respective house substitutes. Vice President of the United StatesSpeaker of the House of Representatives

A previous year presenting the written speech to the Speaker of the House

Vice President Speaker of the House President This is what it looked like last year

Who is in the audience? Sitting near the front of the chamber are the members of the Joint Chiefs of StaffJoint Chiefs of Staff the Justices of the Supreme CourtSupreme Court the members of the President's Cabinet.President's Cabinet Customarily, one cabinet member (the designated survivor) does not attend, in order to provide continuity in the line of succession in the event that a catastrophe disables the President, the Vice President, and other succeeding officers gathered in the House chamber.designated survivorline of succession also present, Members of Congress

A previous year

The President’s Cabinet

In previous years, the room was divided by political party.

Last year was different! Rep. Michael Burgess, R-Texas Sen. John Kerry, D-Mass Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz Sen. Tom Udall, D-N.M Sen. Joe Lieberman, I-Conn

The Speech – what is it about? In the State of the Union the President traditionally outlines the administration's accomplishments over the previous year, as well as the agenda for the coming year in upbeat and optimistic terms. At some point during the speech, the President usually says "The State of our Union is strong" or a very similar phrase. Since the 1982 address, it has also become common for the President to acknowledge special guests sitting near the First Lady in the gallery, such as everyday Americans or visiting Heads of State.1982First LadyHeads of State The guests are usually relevant to some part of the President's speech.

Michelle Obama Laura Bush

EXTRA CREDIT 6 points available 1 point - parent signature 1 point – which Cabinet member is not there? 2 points – topics: write down 2 topics discussed (1 point each) 2 points - your reactions and thoughts: (1 point each)