The tradition at the State of the Union address is for Democrats and Republicans in the audience to take turns clapping, standing up, sitting down, or making faces to express how they feel about what the President is saying.
One of the commentators on ABC News remarked as the cameras showed the Supreme Court justices that here were nine people present who were outside of the political realm. I suppose this means the justices don't express their feelings about public policy the way the Members of Congress do. But I couldn't help but think, as the President greeted Elena Kagan with a kiss, that she might as well stand up and clap with the liberals in the room. She's practically Obama's biggest fan.
It's not like she hasn't expressed her opinion on the President's policy prescriptions before. She celebrated the passage of ObamaCare in an email titled “fingers and toes crossed today,” that said “I hear they have the votes, Larry!! Simply amazing.” And now she's going to get to "impartially" rule on the Constitutionality of the law at the Supreme Court level.
So go ahead and stand up and clap for the President's policy ideas, Justice Kagan; we know you want to!