Just yesterday I was whining about how Tuesday night's State of the Union speech lacked substance. Turns out the substance, in this case, was the sideshow.

I'm talking, of course, about the T-shirts. Talk about your teachable moments!

Two women, sitting in the House Gallery audience for the Big Speech, each wearing T-shirts with messages. One, anti-war activist Cindy Sheehan, who's soldier son died in Iraq, is wearing a black shirt with the message: "2,245 Dead. How Many More?" The other, wife of Congressman C.W. Bill Young (R-Fla.), is wearing a grey shirt with the message "Support Our Troops." Before the speech begins, Capitol police hustle Sheehan out of the gallery, cuff her, take her off for booking and fingerprinting. About 45 minutes into the speech, Beverly Young is also removed by the police and told her shirt amounts to "protesting"...though she is not arrested. Next day,Young's shirt gets an encore on the House floor, as her irrate husband waves it in the air while condemning her removal from the gallery. "Shame! Shame!" cries Young. A contrite Capitol Police Chief Terrance W. Gainer apologizes. He also drops charges against Sheehan.

Not that Congressman Young is any kind of a free speech absolutist. According to the Washington Post, Young was pretty clear that he wouldn't have had much to say against the cuffing, printing and booking of Sheehan. "I totally disagree with everything she stands for," he said.

This little political morality play has it all: two women of strong convictions, on opposite sides of what may be the most divisive issue of our time, both treated like criminals for words not even spoken, but worn. The police force that guards the hallowed halls of our vaunted democracy showing themselves just a tiny bit unclear on the concept. And an elected representative of this great democracy demonstrating that he believes the First Amendment comes with an upgrade for members of Congress and their families, not available to ordinary citizens with unwelcome views.

Not only is this fodder for some great classroom discussions, it seems to call out for a broader response -- maybe a SWAT team of civics teachers to give lessons to the Capitol police and members of Congress on that pesky Constitution we keep hearing about.

(Then maybe an intervention from Miss Manners dealing with proper attire for solemn occasions on the federal stage. I know I wasn't the only person who wished the U.S. Women's Soccer Team hadn't worn flip-flops to the White House.)