From a fellow Canadian who is currently living in China, I'd like to thank you for your analysis of Trump's State of the Union address.

I particularly liked your reference and mention of the "complexity of Presidential language has had to decline over the years...".

I recently taught an American History course to my high school students in China and had them compare President Lincolns' Inaugural Address of March 4, 1861 with the Inaugural Address of President Trump from January 20, 2017. The language is accutely more complex (as you eluded to), a couple of excerpts:

Apprehension seems to exist among the people of the Southern States that by the accession of a Republican Administration their property and their peace and personal security are to be endangered. There has never been any reasonable cause for such apprehension. Indeed, the most ample evidence to the contrary has all the while existed and been open to their inspection. It is found in nearly all the published speeches of him who now addresses you. I do but quote from one of those speeches when I declare that—
I have no purpose, directly or indirectly, to interfere with the institution of slavery in the States where it exists. I believe I have no lawful right to do so, and I have no inclination to do so.

From questions of this class spring all our constitutional controversies, and we divide upon them into majorities and minorities. If the minority will not acquiesce, the majority must, or the Government must cease. There is no other alternative, for continuing the Government is acquiescence on one side or the other. If a minority in such case will secede rather than acquiesce, they make a precedent which in turn will divide and ruin them, for a minority of their own will secede from them whenever a majority refuses to be controlled by such minority. For instance, why may not any portion of a new confederacy a year or two hence arbitrarily secede again, precisely as portions of the present Union now claim to secede from it? All who cherish disunion sentiments are now being educated to the exact temper of doing this.

Surprisingly, though, my grade 11 students (for whom English is not even their first language) did manage to, for the large part, decipher its underlying meanings - something I'm not so convinced that even their American counterparts could easily replicate.

Merci!