What Is the State of Our Union?

You have probably heard the expression: "A picture is worth a thousand words."

You could try to describe in writing how tight security is in Washington these days. But nothing tells the story better than the television images of snipers on rooftops, of police check points, of razor wire walling off pedestrians and surveillance planes circling the skies above.

During President Bush's State of the Union address, there was a picture that told a story of both jubilation and grief. But we'll get to that later.

Let's discuss the State of the Union. The union is the United States of America, and we need to know what state the nation is in. How are we doing as a country, both here at home and with countries abroad?

You may wonder why some of your favorite network TV shows weren't on after 9 p.m. last Wednesday. They were postponed so that television stations with news could all carry the State of the Union speech. We in the media consider it a newsworthy event that the American people should want to see and hear.

The president is required by law to give such a speech. The U.S. Constitution states that the president "shall from time to time give to Congress information of the State of the Union, recommend to their consideration such measures as he shall judge necessary and expedient."

On Jan. 8, 1790, President George Washington gave the first of what would become an annual message to Congress by speaking before both the House and Senate meeting in a joint session. Eleven years later, President Thomas Jefferson thought it was too "kingly" to give oral presentations. He started sending a written message to each house of Congress, which was reprinted by newspapers so the American people could read it.

For the next 112 years, presidents submitted their assessments of the state of the union in writing. In 1913, President Woodrow Wilson revived the oral presentation to Congress. In 1923, Calvin Coolidge was the first president to have his speech broadcast on radio. In 1947, President Harry S. Truman was the first to deliver it on television.