The State of the Union Without Artificial Sweeteners

Surely I am not the only one able to brook the lengthiest of delays in the delivery of this year’s—or any other year’s—State of the Union. The address has become a predictable bore. The president of either party emphasizes his accomplishments, diminishes or neglects to mention his defeats, and members of his party stand and applaud at every claptrap—I use the word in its original sense—while the opposing party remains seated in sullen disenchantment. The only item of possible interest in recent years has been whether Justice Ruth Bader Ginsburg can remain awake.

One...