2011 State of the Union Address

The 2011 State of the Union Address was a speech given by former President Barack Obama at 9 p.m. EST on January 25, 2011, in the chamber of the United States House of Representatives. In this joint session Obama outlined his “vision for an America that’s more determined, more competitive, better positioned for the future—an America where we out-innovate, we out-educate, we out-build the rest of the world; where we take responsibility for our deficits; where we reform our government to meet the demands of a new age.”

As always, the presiding officers of the Senate and the House of Representatives, Vice President Joe Biden (as Senate President) and House Speaker John Boehner sat behind the president. This is the first time a Republican has sat behind President Obama during a joint session of Congress.

In light of the 2011 Tucson shooting of Representative Gabrielle Giffords and others, the Washington Third Way think tank sent a letter to Congressional leadership proposing members of Congress abandon a 96-year-long tradition of sitting with their party and instead sit together in a show of national unity. Senator Mark Udall of Colorado picked up Third Way's proposal and sent a letter to Congressional members urging them to sit together regardless of party, breaking with tradition. Sixty members of the House and Senate signaled their support for the plan, and members of both houses sat with members of the opposite party. Groups included Arizona's House delegation of five Republicans and two Democrats (with an empty chair for Giffords), past presidential candidates John Kerry and John McCain, and campaign leaders John Cornyn and Patty Murray. Legislators wore black-and-white ribbons in honor of the victims of the shooting.

...
Wikipedia