We were just biding our time before this year’s SOTU when we came upon C-SPAN’s archives of past speeches.

Since President Reagan always had such a sunny, optimistic bent, we thought we might check out his 1987 speech (100th Congress).

At he very least (which is more than most), the Gipper always had a story on hand and self-deprecating joke to tell. 

Let's hope for a similarly optimistic pep-talk tonight! 

Thank you very much. Mr. Speaker, Mr. President, distinguished members of Congress, honored guests and fellow citizens. May I congratulate all of you who are members of this historic 100th Congress of the United States of America. In this 200th anniversary year of our Constitution, you and I stand on the shoulders of giants--men whose words and deeds put wind in the sails of freedom.

However, we must always remember that our Constitution is to be celebrated not for being old, but for being young--young with the same energy, spirit, and promise that filled each eventful day in Philadelphia's State House. We will be guided tonight by their acts; and we will be guided forever by their words.

Now, forgive me, but I can't resist sharing a story from those historic days. Philadelphia was bursting with civic pride in the spring of 1787, and its newspapers began embellishing the arrival of the Convention delegates with elaborate social classifications.

Governors of states were called "Excellency." Justices and Chancellors had reserved for them "Honorable" with a capital "H." For Congressmen, it was "honorable" with a small "h." And all others were referred to as "the following respectable characters."

Well, for this 100th Congress, I invoke special Executive powers to declare that each of you must never be titled less than Honorable with a capital "H." Incidentally, I'm delighted you're celebrating the 100th birthday of the Congress. It's always a pleasure to congratulate someone with more birthdays than I've had.

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