State of the Union speech

While I chose to watch Friday Night Lights instead of the State of the Union speech, I have of course heard highlights and read news accounts of the speech. What was unprecedented in the speech was a direct slam against the Supreme Court. They handed down a decision last week that said that it was unconstitutional to prevent a group from distributing a movie about Hillary Clinton in 2008. The left has been apoplectic at this decisions and President Obama has taken a stand with the Keith Olbermanns of the country and called out the Supreme Court. Presidents never do such things at these speeches. Legal Times did some research on the matter and found very few references to the Supreme Court at State of the Union speeches. Only a couple of times were court decisions referenced and the solution was always a proposed constitutional amendment. But that is entirely appropriate. It accepts the legitimacy of the Supreme Court's decisions and recognizes that the constitution needs to actually be amended to change the results of the decision.

What President Obama did last night was similar to what FDR said in his 1937 State of the Union: "The Judicial branch also is asked by the people to do its part in making democracy successful. We do not ask the Courts to call non-existent powers into being, but we have a right to expect that conceded powers or those legitimately implied shall be made effective instruments for the common good. The process of our democracy must not be imperiled by the denial of essential powers of free government." (from Legal Times) Legal Times then notes that soon thereafter, FDR unsuccessfully attempted to end run the existing Supreme Court by adding new justices, also know as "court-packing." For President Obama to be linked with such a blatant effort to intimidate the Judicial branch is appalling.