Bipartisan Seating at State of the Union

Left, Right, Left, Right: We wanted to know if the Iowa delegation would follow the wishes of those who wanted to avoid the usual...one party stands up clapping wildly while the other sits on its hands as the president gives the state of the union. Here's what we heard back from the offices that responded to our inquiries:

Republican Senator Chuck Grassley sat with Oregon Democratic Senator Ron Wyden

3rd District Democratic Congressman sat with Texas Republican Congressman Mike Conaway
4th District Republican Congressman sat with Minnesota Democratic Congressman Collin Peterson
5th District Republican Congressman said he just wanted to get a seat.

State of the Union

State Preview: Today, President Obama offered a preview of his state of the union address he gives on Tuesday. The prez plans to talk about overhauling the tax code, strongly defend his health care reform and talk about economic progress while acknowledging much more needs to be done, according to published reports, including the New York Times. I'm curious how this next topic will go over... He is supposed to discuss deficit reduction, but he is also supposed to talk about the need to spend more in some areas. Will Americans go for that at a time polls show they want Washington to spend less? Or will they be tolerant of it if he spends more in select areas (education and infrastructure), while cutting spending in others?