Welcome to the Daily Article Podcast. Today is Wednesday, February 8th, 2023.

Today's article is written by Denison Forum CEO and co-founder Dr. Jim Denison and narrated by Chris Elkins.

Supreme Court Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg fell asleep during President Obama's 2015 State of the Union address.

House Speaker Nancy Pelosi ripped up a copy of President Trump's 2020 speech after he finished his address.

And networks cut away from President Clinton's 1997 address to air the O.J. Simpson verdict.

I saw no such noteworthy events last night during or after

President Biden's speech, in which he highlighted progress during his years in office and sought to

sell Americans on his economic plans for the future. However, if the past is prologue,

the president should not expect to see significant results from his speech. According to Gallup's Jeffrey M. Jones, historical data suggests these speeches rarely affect

a president's public standing in a meaningful way, despite the amount of attention they receive.

And yet, the Washington Post reports that the president had the largest audience any U.S. politician will have all year, absent some catastrophe that would

require him to give a very different kind of prime time address. Why do so many of us watch?

The answer is actually relevant far beyond last night's speech. In clear in present danger,

a 1994 movie adapted from a Tom Clancy novel, Harrison Ford plays CIA analyst Jack Ryan.

In one scene, he relates troubling news he had discovered regarding governmental corruption

to National Security Advisor Jim Greer, played by James Earl Jones. Ryan says,

I'm afraid if I dig any deeper, no one's going to like what I find.

Greer responds, you took an oath, if you recall, when you first came to work for me.

And I don't mean to the national security advisor of the United States.

I mean to his boss. I don't mean the president. You gave your word to his boss.

You gave your word to the people of the United States.

Jim Greer was right. And like 70% of the world living under dictatorships in the United States,

...