I wrote the following a few years ago. It still applies, at least what I could tell from the bit I heard on the radio.

“Congress is a joke. Or, should I say a bunch of cheerleaders. I’m currently watching President Bush give his obligatory State of the Union report/speech. He barely gets through most sentences without applause. “I think [applause] you need to all [applause] kiss my feet. [applause]” And it comes from both sides of the aisle. Even when he was lying about the war for Iraq, occupation of Iraq and the Patriot act, they applauded. They should at least wait until he finishes a section of his speech or the end of the whole thing. And they shouldn’t feel obligated to applaud if they don’t like what he says. If it were me, I’d wait until the end before applauding, even if the President were my party member, friend or father (he’s not ;).”

Granted, there weren’t so many breaks during his commentary on the war this year, but there sure were a lot during the rest of his speech. A transcript of the speech, including applause breaks is posted on the White House web site. My guess is that they undercount the applause breaks by 20%.
I still don’t know why I bother tuning in at all. It isn’t like I don’t already know what to expect. Blah Blah Blah sound byte. Applause. Blah Blah Blah sound byte. Applause. Blah Blah Blah sound byte. Applause. Blah Blah Blah sound byte. Applause. Blah Blah Blah sound byte. Applause. Blah Blah Blah sound byte. Applause.