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Keller @ Large: State Of The Union Address - Who Cares?

BOSTON (CBS) - President Obama will give his final State of the Union address Tuesday night, which should add a little poignancy to what is traditionally one of the most demoralizing moments in the political calendar.

The State of the Union has never been about the state of the union - at least, not intentionally.

Instead, it is a litany of spin from the president about how wonderful all his initiatives have been, and how much more wonderful they'd be if they hadn't been impeded at every turn by the evil swine who oppose him.

Sometimes a president will use the speech to appeal for unity or try to put lipstick on their own partisanship, but to me it always sounds hollow.

No one in Washington, it seems, ever has the nerve to say "I blew it," even though in one way or another, they always seem to.

State of the Union
President Barack Obama delivers the State of the Union address at the US Capitol in Washington on January 20, 2015. (Photo credit NICHOLAS KAMM/AFP/Getty Images)

The speech's title is especially ironic given the abject disunity it always exposes, especially in the era of multiple camera angles within the House chamber. The president's partisan supporters bounce up and down like yo-yo's applauding his bromides; the opposition is stuck to their seats with super glue, applauding only out of sarcasm, or when motherhood and apple pie are invoked.

This speech will be more of the same, and every last person in the hall shares a piece of the blame.

Obama partisans will watch with regret; Obama haters, with relief, because it is his last. Both parties are too angry and invested in strident conflict to care about what he actually says.

It's enough to make you wonder - why should we?

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