SOTU Prom Night Kumbaya Seating Plan Makes Congressmen Act Like Grown-ups

That's the opinion of Barbara "Dumb-as-a-Box-of-Rocks" Boxer:

Boxer appeared on MSNBC’s special State of the Union night edition of “The Last Word with Lawrence O’Donnell.” O’Donnell asked Boxer and her “date,” Rep. John Mica, Florida Republican, if this seating arrangement made a difference.

“I think so,” Boxer said. “And, you know, I’ve been in that chamber for five different presidents and every one of those speeches is so fascinating and most of the time very inspiring. I don’t know whether John felt it but I felt in the audience those of us who were sitting in a different configuration, I think it was less of a kind of a cheering squad for the president, or a booing squad if you will.”

And that was the difference in changing the mood of the room, Boxer explained.

“We just, I think it was kind of more grown up,” Boxer said. “I don’t know – it just seemed more appropriate the way we were responding to the president.

As I pointed out last night the Kumbaya seating plan also had the effect of taking a lot of the energy out of the room, especially the Democrat energy which would normally rise in faux ecstasy with each new proposal from the Democrat president. The Daily Caller suggests the seating plan left congressmen a bit confused as to how they should respond:

With so much focus on the seating arrangement, it’s a wonder anyone listened to a word he said. As it turns out, there was more focus on the president’s speech, less House floor tweeting, and even less partisan cheering.

Because of Congress’ bipartisan slowdance, the president couldn’t rely on half the room jumping up in celebration at his every word. Members at times looked unsure of whether they should stand up and clap, forcing them to pay attention and play it straight. Blackberry distractions were scarce and the showboating element, the mainstay for so many years, all but disappeared.

One thing that was obvious from the web searches that were hitting the blog, the black-and-white ribbons of silliness were clearly confusing viewers. Lots of people were searching the web to find out what they were supposed to mean or why Obama wasn't wearing one.

Add to all of this Michele Bachmann's unforced error and you had an event which seemed to sow more confusion among viewers and participants than clarity.