Welcome to the Dividist's annual coverage of the Presidential Address to Congress - aka
State of the Union - The Musical!
In 2007, as a blogging toddler, the Dividist despaired at finding a unique approach to the SOTU when so many other bloggers would be traversing the same ground. The answer came from
Bob Woodward. In an
on-line Washington Post forum the Dividist asked whether the
SOTU had any real relevance. Woodward responded by saying it was
"mostly theater." Genius. That was the answer. What better way to frame the SOTU, media and blog reactions than within the lyrics of a Broadway show tune?
The game is to start with a Broadway song then find
blog posts,
news stories,
tweets,
essays and
commentary that can be vaguely referenced in the song and link them to the lyrics. It keeps the Dividist awake and blogging throughout the speech and
mandatory drinking game.
In
2007 it was "Comedy Tonight" from A Funny Thing Happened on the Way to the Forum. In
2008 it was the 1966 hit "Georgy Girl Boy". For
2009, we welcomed President Obama with
"Razzle Dazzle" from the musical Chicago. In
2010, the man behind the curtain was revealed in -
The Wizard of Oz. We
mostly skipped 2011, but in
2012, with the President and Congress erecting barricades against mobs wielding pitchforks and torches, we were drawn to
Les Miserables and
"Do you hear the people sing?" In
2013, after the people handed the President an overwhelming 52% mandate for absolutely
no change, we offered a tribute to our prog friends as they gaze lovingly at
President Obama Superstar and thought
"I don't know how to love him". In 2014, although an election year, we were virtually
assured of continuing our happily divided government for the balance of his administration, so the President declared he will rule with a
pen and a phone. It sounded like he was going to
mail it in for balance of the second term. What could be more appropriate than President Obama gazing in a mirror and singing "I believe in you" from
"How to Succeed as President Without Really Trying".
An now, here we are in 2015, with not just any divided government, but the
very best kind of divided government. With fears of a lame duck President locked into a frozen block of icy gridlock with a Republican Congress, what could be more appropriate for the State of the Union than President Obama choosing to empower himself with
"Let It Go" from
Frozen?