You watch the Super Bowl because you want to. You watch and listen to the president's State of the Union Address as a citizen's duty which might be called "cruel and unusual punishment."

Some have been eloquent expositions of the state of the union. On Feb. 5 the pomp and circumstance was reliably appropriate, what followed was not. President Trump started speaking before he was properly introduced by his host, Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi. He lurched into the familiar set of campaign promises and projections. If you believe in "tells," body language, this first part was a set piece − no substance, just gas.

As he drew the applause he craves, his hands started moving. A set of dubious statistics with right-hand punctuation devolved into threats. And now the left hand was in the game. Compromise starts by identifying common points of agreement. Trumpian compromise means "do it my way or else." Revenge and resistance politics are of his making, as are the crises he created. Now he presents himself as the savior.

Bullies win through unopposed aggression. War and investigation are separate issues. War is the last weapon of diplomacy, investigations seek truth. He's running scared, hence the threats.

Larry White

East Lyme