State of the Union addresses — like most presidential speeches – rarely produce a bump in job approval ratings or bring around lawmakers of the opposite party. So why does tonight matter?
[T]he issues presidents emphasize in the State of the Union seem to affect which areas are rated most important by the public. In this way, President Obama may be able to help set the issue agenda for his last two years in office and the 2016 election…
But Mr. Obama faces a significant challenge — breaking through the clutter that increasingly hinders presidential efforts to communicate with the public.