The Crow's Egg

Via Dan Froomkin in the Washington Post, criticism of the meaningless ritual of the State of the Union address:

"More like an acceptance speech at a national convention than a candid review of the nation's situation at the outset of a new year, the State of the Union has evolved into a semi-imperial speech from the throne."

What else to expect from an event that is a clear adaptation of the State Opening of Parliament in the UK, with the President the increasingly apt replacement for the monarch?