and he did that in large part to try assert the mastery of the presidency over congress to is implement congress it is a leading institution or center of gravity in the american politics. prior to wilson almost all presidents fulfill constitutional requirement to fulfill information on the union as the phrase in the text by sending letters to congress and publishing them in the newspaper. well, wilson created spectacle we know today which all presidents followed with one or two minor exceptions and i i hate as much as i hate to say it, mag news as rush limbaugh calls him, contributed to the degradation to the state of the union speech which did not surprise us as the only president with a show business background. there is to be said to reagan s credit, however. his state of the union speeches tend to be much shorter than his successors. reagan s addresses were 4800 words long and delivered them crisply. often getting out in 45 to 50 minutes. by contrast clinton and bark