1982 State of the Union Address was delivered by Senator Donald Riegle (MI), Senator James Sasser (TN), Rep. Albert Gore Jr. (TN), Senator Robert Byrd (W.Va), Senator Edward Kennedy (MA), House Speaker Thomas P. O'Neill III (MA), Senator Gary Hart (CO), Senator Paul Sarbanes (MD), Senator J. Bennett Johnston (LA), and Senator Alan Cranston (CA). 1982 State of the Union Address The 1982 State of the Union address was given by President Ronald Reagan to a joint session of the 97th United States Congress on Tuesday, January 26, 1982. The speech was the first State of the Union address of President Reagan's first term. The speech
Response to the State of the Union address Response to the State of the Union address The response to the State of the Union address is a rebuttal speech, often brief, delivered by a representative (or representatives) of the opposition party following a presidential State of the Union address. When the president is a Democrat, the rebuttal is given by a Republican, and vice versa. The practice began in 1966 when Republican U.S. Senator Everett Dirksen (Illinois) and U.S. Representative Gerald Ford (Michigan) appeared on TV to offer a response to the address by Democratic President Lyndon Johnson. The opposition party's response has varied in format, ranging from