President Clinton joked during his 2000 State of the Union address that it was like watching a seesaw—a lopsided one. As he ticked off dozens of proposals, the Democrats, sitting to his right, leaped up and cheered, while the Republicans, to his left, sat dourly on their hands. Since President Bush's election, of course, the congressional seesaw has tilted in a new direction, but the political audience's reaction to the State of the Union still serves as a…… More »