STATE OF THE UNION . . . RAMBLE ON

It didn't take long for the jokes to start percolating on Capitol Hill after President Clinton's unexpectedly lengthy and rambling State of the Union address . Rep. Jack Kingston (R-Ga.) described Clinton's address as "a great marching speech. It went left-right, left-right, left-right." Congressional Democrats said they were trying to figure out in whichdirection Clinton is trying to leadthem. "I could close my eyes and hear him talking about increasing opportunity but requiring responsibility," offered Sen. John Breaux (D-La.). Said conservative Democratic Rep. Mike Parker of Mississippi: "He opposed every moderate effort in the last Congress. I can only wonder now if he actually believes in his own promises, or will he reverse course yet again?" Whose fault was the 100-minute pastiche? Apparently, Clinton winged it.TIME White House correspondent James Carneynotes that Chief of Staff Leon Panetta promised just hours before Clinton's delivery that the speech would run just 40 minutes.