Gibbon on State of the Union Addresses

In talking about the military campaigns of Theodoric, the Ostrogothic king of Italy in the sixth century, Gibbon in speaking of one of his sources says:

"Theodoric's march is supplied and illustrated by Ennodius .... when the bombast of the oration is translated into the language of common sense.'

Ennodius was a Roman politician who delivered a speech, a type of 'state of the kingdom' oration, telling Theodoric how wonderful everything was under his rule ... even though he was a filthy barbarian and an heretic to boot. He was king, which meant Ennodius' career was on the line.

BTW, don't you think that all the applause, especially the faux applause complete with standing ovation by the Democrats when Bush mentioned the failure of his Social Security reform, was a bit... oh, childish?