How much does Bush's speech take away from coverage during the last day of campaigning before Florida? I'll be honest: it wasn't even on my radar until I saw a reminder on one of the Sunday morning talk shows. I don't recall Clinton's last SotU in 2000 but it was on a Thursday in between Iowa and New Hampshire that year (And there were just eight days between the two then.). There may be a reason I don't recall it and it may be that I was focused completely on Iowa and New Hampshire. Will that be the case with everyone else tomorrow though?
In 2000, 46 percent of the public said that they followed news about President Clinton's State of the Union Address "not at all closely" and another 18 percent said "not too closely". Only 19 percent followed it "very closely", all according to a Kaiser/Harvard poll after the speech. By contrast, 59 percent of the public watched all or part of the 1999 speech, and about an equal amount said they watched Bush's speech last year. I suspect we will see a similar decline in interest as the public seems to have moved on toward a future administration.
ReplyDeleteThat being said, you can't keep the political junkies away from a State of the Union address.
Rich,
ReplyDeleteI think I will give this State of the Union a pass. I'm too stoked up about Florida. With so many early voters in the Sunshine State, will the exit polls be that much help tomorrow or will they need to wait longer than usual before they declare a winner?
Great stuff Rich. Thanks.
ReplyDeleteI'm still going to tune in. I have a weak spot for these things no matter who is giving them. Florida isn't going anywhere (for a political junkie). Why not do both?