Tonight’s “non-traditional” State of the Union

Tonight will be the president’s State of the Union message.  This will be President Obama’s last time to address the joint session of Congress and the American people in this constitutionally-mandated duty.  The White House is saying that it will be a “non-traditional” speech, in which the president will reach out to the American people rather than the Republican-controlled House and Senate.

Watch it and comment on it here.  I’m going to try doing so.  Join me here at the Cranach blog at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time.

From Obama goes it alone in his last State of the Union – CNNPolitics.com:

The White House says President Barack Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday night will be non-traditional.

What that means: Obama will be talking about himself, not asking Congress for a long list of items he knows he’ll never get.

Obama will deliver his final State of the Union address a week after bypassing Congress by using his executive authority to expand gun rules. He could use the speech to highlight other issues on his agenda that he’ll address without the help of Congress, like Guantanamo Bay, echoing previous executive actions on everything from immigration, carbon dioxide emissions and re-starting diplomatic relationship with Cuba.

In an interview with CNN’s Jake Tapper on “State of the Union,” White House Chief of Staff Denis McDonough signaled that Obama will pit the American people, watching on television, against Congress, his in-person audience, and its members’ donors.

[Keep reading. . .]