An Unexpectedly Important SOTU Address

Of all the misunderstood phrases popular in Washington, one of the most frequently cited is Teddy Roosevelt’s observation that the Presidency is a bully pulpit. This is often, perhaps even usually, understood as an expression of Presidential power. When the Commander-in-Chief speaks, the country listens and when he decrees that something must be done, Washington and the electorate can be intimidated into signing up for the President’s agenda.

But that’s not how Roosevelt meant the term. Bully was one of T.R’s favourite words and he used it simply to mean superb or excellent or grand. The difference matters because it reveals the limits of Presidential power. And as we have seen even when the President’s party controls the House and Senate the President cannot dictate terms to Congress.

Barack Obama might be more popular than his Democratic colleagues in Congress but tonight’s State of the Union address is only an excellent platform from which he hopes to reassert his authority.