[Publius]

Until Woodrow Wilson, the State of the Union was a written letter to Congress read to each House by the presiding officer of the House in question. We should return to that. Let the Speaker and President Pro Tem read the letter to each House.

Trump should read it to the people -- with his own pithy comments -- at a Fireside Chat on radio and TV, free from interruptions from those who oppose him.

[txhurl]

OTOH, DJT makes mincemeat out of ill-behaved audience members. The people need to see him fight back, it will further cleave them to him. Once he gets his approval to 60%, he can lay waste to the RATS with voters applauding it.

[Verginius Rufus]

Washington and Adams addressed Congress but Jefferson made it a written message because he didn't like making speeches. Woodrow Wilson revived the earlier tradition...maybe by then everyone had forgotten how it had been done at first (I think Teddy Roosevelt was mad at himself for not thinking of doing it that way), but Wilson had been a history professor so he knew.

The nation learned its lesson from Wilson. The next time they had a chance to elect as President a former history professor, 49 states voted against him....George McGovern.