ED MORRISSEY ON THE STATE OF THE UNION: Can we please, please, PLEASE end the Annual Imperialism Prom? “Thomas Jefferson had it correct. The Constitution requires a report to Congress on ‘the State of the Union,’ but it doesn’t require Congress to treat the head of the co-equal branch of government like a Roman emperor returning on a triumph. Jefferson sent Congress a letter, which set a tradition that lasted a hundred years-plus. Jefferson worried in 1801 that a presidential appearance would blur the constitutional lines and give the appearance of imperial royalty.”