 |
And Mr. President, don't forget to salute the Mrs.
By Melissa August, Val Castronovo, Matthew Cooper, Daniel Levy,
Ellin Martens, Julie Rawe, Chris Taylor, Owen Thomas and Josh
Tyrangiel
January 31, 2000
Web posted at: 3:50 p.m. EST (2050 GMT)
So you snoozed through the State of the Union, or maybe you were
watching WWF Smackdown on UPN instead. Here's the lowdown: at 89
minutes, it was the longest personally delivered State of the
Union speech ever. (In 1946, Harry Truman sent his 25,000-word
message to be read by a clerk. It took more than three hours.)
Clinton spoke 9,298 words at 104 words per minute, a leisurely
pace compared with his 9,375-word, 116-words-per-minute marathon
in 1995, delivered in 81 minutes. The 2000 address received a
record 119 ovations. Not one Supreme Court Justice showed up. And
after praising Hillary, Clinton mouthed, "I love you" at
her--exactly as he did in 1999.
|
