America's Best Days are Ahead

Gould points out that "The State of the Union address gained new show business aspects under Reagan. No longer just a televised rendering of a president communicating with Congress, Reagan's ddresses introduced heroes, prominent Americans, and human examples of policy needs among the guests sitting in the visitors' gallery" (195).

This short clip shows the end of Reagan's State of the Union Address in 1984. He ends the speech with a characteristic rally cry of patriotism. Instead of a drab C-Span style drone, the camera focuses on his facial expressions and those of the people in the gallery, like the woman in the red dress and pearls.

One can see with all of this free airtime to promote values and policies why, "state governors were even emulating his techniques in their televised State of the State addresses" (195). Not only did Reagan's state of the union addresses convey his point of view to Congress, he made a major contribution to the modern presidency. The state of the union held more mass appeal and patriotic good feelings as Reagan insists that 'America's Best Days are Ahead.'