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Why You Don’t Need to Watch the State of the Union

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Jonathan Bernstein: “First of all, these speeches never have significant effects on public opinion about the president; nor do they change minds about the president’s policy choices. Yes, even now, after decades of evidence to the contrary, we still have headlines asking whether a State of the Union address can ‘fix’ Trump’s awful ‘polling’ and articles about how ‘Trump will have the spotlight as he seeks to sell his victories and convince a skeptical public that he is indeed focused on improving their lives.'”

“We know the answer: Any hope that the speech could ‘reignite the presidency’s momentum’ when it comes to public opinion is wishful thinking.”

“If it never worked for Ronald Reagan, Bill Clinton, or Barack Obama – all of whom were much better speakers, especially in this format – it’s not going to happen for Donald Trump. Especially since they at least (especially Reagan) had the advantage of a captive audience, with fewer alternatives.”

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About Political Wire

goddard-bw-snapshotTaegan Goddard is the founder of Political Wire, one of the earliest and most influential political web sites. He also runs Political Job Hunt, Electoral Vote Map and the Political Dictionary.

Goddard spent more than a decade as managing director and chief operating officer of a prominent investment firm in New York City. Previously, he was a policy adviser to a U.S. Senator and Governor.

Goddard is also co-author of You Won - Now What? (Scribner, 1998), a political management book hailed by prominent journalists and politicians from both parties. In addition, Goddard's essays on politics and public policy have appeared in dozens of newspapers across the country.

Goddard earned degrees from Vassar College and Harvard University. He lives in New York with his wife and three sons.

Goddard is the owner of Goddard Media LLC.

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