The State of the Union speech is a fine winter spectacle, a chance for the president and Congress to look each other in the eye. But it's not actually about the Union.

The truth is, it's the state of the presidency that we come to witness and measure, poke and prod. The hour-long Washington ritual gives an accurate prognosis of the patient's health for the next year or two — or three, as the case may be.

The patient, the president who gave us the troubled Obamacare, is in serious condition himself.

The evening also serves as an X-ray of the president's vitality and mojo, in real time. Here's how I reluctantly read the evidence: A beautiful speech won't cure what ails Barack Obama at the end of the political day. In a country seriously hurting at almost every level from a still-soft economy, speeches have ceased to lead to results.

Thus Obama's greatest asset, weaving words that inspire, is wearing thin. The body politic is becoming immune to presidential utterances, however lyrical. That growing national skepticism could be glimpsed among the 500-plus lawmakers, Democrats and Republicans alike, who clapped listlessly for ideas like new skills for the new economy. Who could argue with that?

Here's the bittersweet way we see it: A kiss is just a kiss. And a speech is just a speech, with or without equal pay for women, or a tremendously touching tribute to a scarred Army sergeant. Raising the minimum wage to $10.10 sounds good, but saying doesn't make it so.

All agreed, Obama's State of the Union speech had its moments. Yet this year's edition was an unfortunate first. In an odd brew, the speech revealed the president's political power has become anemic even under a strong delivery.

It's not a secret, but a shared lament among many liberals and supporters swept up by Obama's spell five years ago. Frankly, we're losing faith in Obama's ability to get big things done, even by executive order. After a frustrating, fruitless 2013, his new strategy of going "around" Congress seems tantamount to admitting defeat against a tough crowd. The reckless House Republican class of 2010 majored in government shutdowns for much of Obama's time in office. It seems a shame to surrender to enemies like that. Obama's biggest mistake was trying to deal with them through House Speaker John Boehner. It was a shock to Obama's ego, yet they proved immune to his charms from the get-go.

But that's history. Going forward, Obama vowed to pursue a won't-stand-still strategy. You could almost hear the Democratic silent chorus: "Fine. Sounds like a plan. Good luck with that." In general, congressional Democrats like the president, but they don't love him. A bit of a loner, the president has an athletic physique, but his circulation is not as robust as it should be. His circulation index is almost frail, in fact, for the trying times ahead. Politics is a team sport he has not mastered.

All in all, our patient-president makes a fascinating study. To review, on Tuesday night, Obama apparently displayed a healthy vigor. He strode into the House chamber, swam through seas of well-wishers and sent his words soaring toward the dome. The deft performance was worth a million bucks. It takes a trained eye to see through all that.

As if on cue, it started snowing in bitterly cold Washington after the State of the Union was over. Just blocks from the creamy marble Capitol is the Folger Shakespeare Library, which has an authentic Elizabethan theater. "King Richard The Third" is about to open. There's a line from that play that Obama should have borrowed from the Bard, a searing stroke of truth from the speechwriter for all time:

"Now is the winter of our discontent."

That would have brought down the House.

To find out more about Jamie Stiehm, and read features by other Creators writers and cartoonists, visit www.creators.com.