At the last State of the Union address only six of the nine Supreme Court Justices attended, I have a feeling the attendance will be a little lower next time round. During a Q and A session at the University of Alabama, Chief Justice John Roberts was asked his opinion on the Alito incident at the State of the Union. Roberts said:
"So I have no problems with that," he said. "On the other hand, there is the issue of the setting, the circumstances and the decorum.
"The image of having the members of one branch of government standing up, literally surrounding the Supreme Court, cheering and hollering while the court — according the requirements of protocol — has to sit there expressionless, I think is very troubling."…
Roberts told the students he wonders whether justices should attend the speeches.
"I'm not sure why we're there," said Roberts,…
Sounds like Roberts might be channeling his inner Clarence Thomas on this matter. As I mentioned before on this blog, the State of the Union is really becoming such a childish exercise. It isn’t something that started under Obama either, it was bad under Clinton and Bush as well.
Since partisanship is driving much of the childish behavior, I think it would be better for future presidents to simply give the address from the Oval Office, where there can be no silly standing ovations, cat calls or outbursts. Let the viewers at home make up their own minds as to whether or not the president is saying anything noteworthy.
More reactions at Sister Toldjah and Scared Monkeys.
Via: Memeorandum
Via: Associated Press