For 112 years, until 1913, Presidents delivered their State of the Union addresses to Congress in writing.

Woodrow Wilson decided to do it in person, and almost every President has done so since. The speech

was given during the day until LBJ turned it into a prime-time occasion. The parties always sat primly

apart. It was only under Ronald Reagan that the State of the Union morphed into a showbiz event (what

Chief Justice John Roberts has likened to a "pep rally") complete with dueling standing ovations. The

idea this year of bipartisan seating--an across-the-aisle congressional date night--was a gimmick, but a

perfectly fine one. Many old Washington hands have bemoaned the fact that Republicans and Democrats

don't socialize as they once did. Tip O'Neill used to say that partisanship stopped at 6 o'clock, the cocktail

hour. But friendliness across the aisle matters only if it helps Congress accomplish something. Given the

choice between a buddy-buddy Congress that accomplishes nothing and one with frosty relations that

gets stuff done, the American people would unhesitatingly choose the latter.