Election Politics

As is clear from the beginning of the play, State of the Union is about politics in the United States, specifically the presidential election process. The main plot concerns the Republican Party's desire to win back the White House in the 1948 election. As Kay notes to James in the first scene, "If we get a strong candidate in '48 we've got better than a fighting chance." Kay feels that Grant would be the right candidate, because the buzz from her newspapers tells her that "The party's best chance in '48 is to put up a candidate who's never been identified with politics." Kay, as well as James and Spike, knows that image is everything when a candidate is trying to win a presidential election. Because of this, as soon as Grant has said that he is considering the run for president, they all start working on his...