Matter of Opinion

Tue., Jan. 25, 2011

No saving seats

There's been a lot of talk on the political TV channels today about the change in seating arrangements for tonight's State of the Union Address. Rs and Ds will mingle rather than divide into partisan blocs in the House chamber. Or, as Republican Sen. Lisa Murkowski of Alaska, one of the proponents of the scheme, put it, they'll "get out of our conventional skins. "

Everyone agrees it's a symbolic gesture, but coming after last fall's election (not to mention last year's "You lie!"), I'm betting most Americans welcome it. It will be interesting to see how it affects the applause patterns or (Murkowski's words again) the "theatrics."

Posted Jan. 25, 2011, 11:46 a.m.

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