Why I Watch the State of the Union Speech

President Obama is scheduled to deliver his State of the Union speech tonight. I've covered a lot of State of the Union addresses, and honestly, I can barely remember any of them. A few stand out. But the rest are a blur. There is always a lot of talk in the days before about what the president needs to say or who he needs to connect with. Then there's a lot of talk afterwards about how the president did. I pity the poor person who has to do the response. Rarely a life-changing experience. Either for the speaker or the audience. Still, I never miss it. I like to watch the partisan responses. When one party stands up while the other sits on its hands. And then when the president says something everyone can agree on and they all cheer. Maybe its hokum, but it helps us to believe we're all in this together.

Just a minute, I'm Harry Smith, CBS News.