Posted by Frank James at 9:15 pm CST
Reporters who wanted to head to Statuary Hall to hear the post-State of the Union spin from the members of Congress had to leave the press gallery to be officially escorted through the building before President Bush's speech was over so that's where I'm blogging from now.
Senators and House members are starting to stream through the hall. And not just lawmakers. The Supreme Court, at least Chief Justice John Roberts Jr, and justices Clarence Thomas, Stephen Breyer and Samuel Alito Jr. just walked by, apparently unaccosted by reporters.
During the president's speech, it was interesting to watch the Supremes. There clearly was a split on the high court about when to applaud. When the president said "Tonight the state of the union is strong and, together, we will make it stronger," Breyer looked to his right to see what Thomas was doing. Thomas was clapping politely. So Breyer started to clap too then looked to his left to see what Alito, the brand new justice, was doing. Alito didn't applaud. Even when Breyer appeared to tell him it was OK, he just sat with his hands folded in his lap. Seemed like on his first day he was taking the independence of the judiciary exceedingly seriously. The chief justice also didn't applaud.
Sen. Frank Lautenberg (D-NJ) is right in front of me. A young TV assistant just asked him which part of the president's speech he liked the most. "The end," he said. "The part about God bless America."
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