'STATE OF THE UNION' NIGHT 2013 IN AMERICA.............

On this February 12th, the two hundred and fourth anniversary of the birth of the 16th President of the United States, POTUS 44, President Barack Obama will deliver his fifth 'State of the Union Address', the first and perhaps most pivotal SOTU Address of his second term.  As Constitutionally mandated requirement that the President occasionally deliver a report to the Congress on the affairs of the nation, Presidents George Washington and John Adams appeared in person before the Congress to give the Address, Presidents from Thomas Jefferson through William Howard Taft did not.  President Woodrow Wilson did in 1913, and it happened now and again from that time until President Franklin Roosevelt solidified the annual appearance of the President to deliver his report and requests to the Congress and the Nation in 1934.  President Calvin Coolidge was the first President to give the Address over the radio in 1923.  President Harry Truman was the first one to give what officially became known by the designation, 'State of the Union Address', on television in 1947.  In 1965, President Lyndon Johnson moved the time of the State of the Union Address away from being an afternoon speech, to an event delivered in the evening / prime time hours of television and radio coverage.  In recent decades, Presidents Ronald Reagan, George H.W. Bush, William J. Clinton, and George W. Bush, decided not to give SOTU Addresses, in 1981; 1989; 1993; and 2001; after entering the White House.  And so tonight, at 9 p.m. Eastern, 8 p.m. Central, 7 p.m. Mountain, and 6 p.m. Pacific Standard Time, President Obama will speak before a Joint Session of the Houses of Congress, from the dais of the House, with what is expected to be a report on the Economy, Jobs, Immigration Reform, Gun Violence, among other topics; and his requested proposals for how to respond to these matters.  Two alternative responses will follow the President's speech, with Florida Senator Marco Rubio, delivering the official Republican Party response; and Kentucky Senator Rand Paul, giving a Tea Party response.............Fr.  Troy