[Starstruck]

The address fulfills rules in Article II, Section 3 of the U.S. Constitution. Let’s not take Obama’s slippery slope away from the Constitution.

[kabar]

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;

The Constitution doesn't require that the President provide this information in-person at a joint session of Congress.

George Washington delivered the first regular annual message before a joint session of Congress on January 8, 1790, in New York City, then the provisional U.S. capital. In 1801, Thomas Jefferson discontinued the practice of delivering the address in person, regarding it as too monarchical (similar to the Speech from the Throne). Instead, the address was written and then sent to Congress to be read by a clerk until 1913 when Woodrow Wilson re-established the practice despite some initial controversy. However, there have been exceptions to this rule. Presidents during the latter half of the 20th century have sent written State of the Union addresses. The last President to do this was Jimmy Carter in 1981.

Obama acts like a monarch. Let's use the Jeffersonian response.