So at a time of global turmoil and growing White House pressure to gut defense, the Pentagon gets a potted plant.

WSJ: Review & Outlook: The Hagel Democrats

Alito had been a regular, but he told an audience after the 2010 event that he felt "like the proverbial potted plant" and would not be attending in the near future.

CNN: To go or not to go: Supreme Court at the State of the Union