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President Bush will deliver his State of the Union address tonight. Listen as KSMU's Mike Smith talks about the speech with a Missouri State University Political Science Professor and a Springfieldian who was honored by President Reagan during his 1986 State of the Union address:
When President Bush delivers his State of the Union address tonight, he's expected to tout successes in the war on terror. Political observers including Missouri State Professor Joel Paddock say the speech will likely touch on health care, education, energy, and re-building the Gulf coast following Hurricane Katrina.
Paddock says in it's original form, the State of the Union was presented to Congress as a written dopcument. It was Woodrow Wilson, Paddock says, who first delivered the State of the Union in the form of a speech, and with the age of television in the 1950's and 60's, a sitting President could also "take his case over the head of Congress directly to the American people.
Tonight's State of the Union address will have special meaning to a Missouri State University Graduate: Shelby Butler was 13 years old when she was recognized as a hero by President Ronald Reagan during his 1986 address.
In 1985, Butler was a safety patrol crossing guard at a junior high school in St. Joseph Missouri when a school bus full of children lost its brakes and rolled backward down a hill toward a group of children she was guiding across the street. After getting most of the group out of the path of the bus, Shelby noticed a little girl who had frozen at the sight of the bus. With only a second or two to spare, Butler placed herself in harms way to move the younger student to safety.
Butler's heroism was made known to President Reagan and she along with 3 other young people were summond to Washington D.C. to be recognized at the State of the Union address for efforts on behalf of their fellow citizens.
The orginal date of the 1986 address was January 28th, and Shelby Butler and her family arrived in Washington only to find out that the space shuttle Challenger had exploded in the skies over Florida. Shelby and the 3 other young honorees were able to visit with President Reagan at the White House that day, but the speech was re-scheduled for the following Tuesday.
During the address, President Reagan introduced Shelby by saying "With bravery like yours Shelby, America need never fear for our future."
Today, Shelby Butler is a Disability Advocate with the Southwest Center for Independent Living in Springfield Missouri. Butler says her State of the Union experience has given her confidence in knowing she can handle crisis situations.
For KSMU News, I'm Mike Smith.