Sorry, Governor, that was unpresidential. It has no place in the nation's capital.

It would be impossible for the president to deliver the State of the Union address without sending out a link to the text and a pre-recorded video and appearing before the House of Representatives.

This iconic event is an annual highlight in Washington: “Mr. Speaker, Mr. President of the United States,” it is announced boomingly. Lawmakers jostle for camera positions along the center aisle as the beaming commander-in-chief makes his way to the podium. Cheers, screams. And then a solemn speech.

Governor, despite all the media speculation we political news anchors love to generate, you may not be a candidate for president after all, in 2028 or any year.

In case you missed it (and many of you probably did, since it's not at the top of the national concern list), Governor Gavin Newsom delivered his annual State of the State address on Tuesday in a very odd way — except that it wasn't odd for him, just unusual compared to the 10 California governors from 82 years ago.

Newsom sent a transcript of what he called a State of the State address to the state legislature and recorded it. He posted it on his YouTube page. He stayed away from the state Capitol, where governors give these speeches every year.

The night before, he'd hosted lawmakers for a private reception at the governor's historic mansion, as any smart governor would.

Well, no governor, not even the Governor of California, can be equal to the President of the United States, and Sacramento is not a little Washington, it's a big Carson City.

But the governor's State of the State address is typically the most colorful day of the year at the California State Capitol, where the ornate 19th-century building is packed with lawmakers, state elected officials, Supreme Court justices and dignitaries, most of whom are in high spirits and well behaved.

No one has yet shouted “You're a liar,” as some Republicans did during the State of the Union address in Washington.

Newsom may have been booed by Republicans if he had read his remarks Tuesday in front of an audience, as he repeatedly denounced “Republican states” and “toxic right-wing populism.”

Still, the State of the State address is a time when lawmakers from both parties can come to terms with their perpetual polarization and take pause. All three branches of government come together for a brief fraternization. It's good for the soul.

And it gives the governor a valuable forum to pitch his policies directly to the Legislature.

Not attending seems rude, even insulting, and certainly shows disrespect for historic institutions, so many of which are crumbling all around us.

The governor's office told reporters that the State of the State address is “a relatively recent institution in California.” Prior to the administration of Governor Earl Warren, the State of the State address was simply an annual report.

Recently? Warren was elected 82 years ago. And every governor since then, including Governor Newsom, has addressed a joint session of the Legislature in person.

First, Newsom has been inexcusably late this year.

The State of the State address typically comes early in the year, right after the governor releases his budget proposal in early January. It's already summer.

Governor Newsom was originally scheduled to address the State of the State in mid-March, but he canceled the speech because the fate of Proposition 1, which would provide housing and treatment for homeless people, is still undecided, Governor Newsom said. This is ridiculous.

Furthermore, the governor's office claimed that there were “scheduling difficulties with the Legislature” and “few dates available” before the fall. What's more, this is nonsense: the Legislature always accedes to a governor's requests for speaking time, especially in a one-party state.

In fact, Newsom hates reading speeches from a teleprompter — “It’s anxiety-producing for him,” a senior aide once told me — and he has to rehearse them multiple times, a problem he blames on dyslexia, a condition he has suffered from all his life.

He's a master of improvisation, and maybe he should do the same with his State of the State speech: give legislators a prepared script and then ad lib.

Newsom has tried many ways to avoid giving major in-person speeches, but when he does deliver them, he does it flawlessly.

As mayor of San Francisco in 2008, Newsom instead of delivering the traditional State of the City address posted a boring seven-and-a-half-hour video to his YouTube channel — a huge flop.

In 2021, the governor delivered his State of the State address in center field at an empty Dodger Stadium. The Capitol building was off-limits that year because of fears that crowded seating could spread COVID-19. But an empty stadium? He was widely booed by the media.

Last year, Governor Newsom abandoned his State of the State report and went on a four-city tour to promote his new policies.

This latest address was a combination of a state of the state address and a national political address, with emphasis on the latter.

It was as if the governor was auditioning for a prime-time speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention in August, but don't be surprised if President Biden's defenders first ask him to review the transcript and then speak exactly as scripted — creating more teleprompter headaches.

If Newsom is truly passionate about Potomac, he should study this important speech as governor. Unfortunately, he missed his golden opportunity.