1997 State of the Union Address of high school students sponsored by the Close Up Foundation. Dan Glickman, the Secretary of Agriculture, served as the designated survivor. The speech was broadcast live on television and radio and lasted 1:04:21 and consisted of 6,774 words. This was the first State of the Union Address carried live on the Internet. 1997 State of the Union Address The 1997 State of the Union address was given by President Bill Clinton to a joint session of the 105th United States Congress on Tuesday, February 4, 1997. The speech was the first State of the Union address of President Clinton's second
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