It goes without saying that the State of the Union is a politicized event. That's why some members of the Supreme Court have taken to skipping it in recent years. The annual speech is an opportunity for the President to use the bully pulpit to support his own political agenda.
Political rhetoric—especially speaking in order to appeal to voters—is one of the most important parts of government, especially in the contemporary world. What you do is often less important than what you say when it comes to running for office. It's hard to actually make people truly agree with you. It's easier to make them think that you agree with them.
Few modern politicians have mastered this art as much as Bill Clinton. In the 1996 State of the Union Address, he was able to remake his political profile in just one conservative-sounding hour of yapping.
Questions About Politics
- What kind of voters do you think Bill Clinton was most targeting in the 1996 State of the Union? Congress? Conservative or liberal? Young people or old? Rich or poor?
- The speech does not reference the 1996 elections, nor the 1994 midterm elections. Why do you think Bill Clinton avoided talking about these events?
- Throughout the entire speech, Clinton avoids saying the words "conservative" or "liberal." Why do you think he avoids talking about ideology explicitly?
- Some countries have political systems in which single-issue parties exist. Do you think that politics should mostly be about individual issues, or identity as part of a group?
Chew on This
The 1996 State of the Union Address was more than an official government event—it was also a Bill Clinton campaign speech.
By declaring, "The era of big government is over," Bill Clinton was trying to bring more conservative-leaning voters into the Democratic Party.