Washington is buzzing today over a proposal to shake up tradition and get members of Congress to adopt a bipartisan seating plan for the upcoming State of the Union address.

Sen. Mark Udall (D-Colo.) is leading the charge to get members of opposite parties to sit together in a symbolic show of unity during the president's Jan. 25 speech -- and the White House is on board:

"Maybe not having a physical aisle separate us would be a good thing as we talk about the state of our union," White House press secretary Robert Gibbs said Thursday in response to a question about Udall's proposal. Traditionally, each party sits together separated by the House aisle during the president's speech.

Now, the new proposal is gaining steam just one day after Barack Obama called for the nation to come together and bridge partisan divides in the wake of the Tucson, Ariz. shooting.

Udall released a letter Wednesday proposing the idea to his colleagues, saying "beyond custom, there is no rule or reason that on this night we should emphasize divided government, separated by party, instead of being seen united as a country." The seating arrangement was first floated this week by the think tank Third Way, which penned a letter to congressional leaders urging this and other unifying actions.

An aide with Udall's office told The Ticket that as of 3:30 pm Thursday, eight senators and four House members had signed on to the letter. And it's not only Democrats voicing support -- Republican Sens. Lisa Murkowski (Alaska) and John McCain (Ariz.) both signed the proposal, Udall's office confirmed.

Other members also unofficially expressed support Thursday. Sen. Charles E. Schumer (D-N.Y.) told The Plum Line's Greg Sargent: "This would be a great way to start off the new session in a bipartisan way following up on the cooperation during the lame duck and the President's speech urging all Americans to come together."

But amid all this unity and symbolism, Dan Amira argues over at Daily Intel that changing the seating arrangement would actually do a disservice to the American people:

A neat separation of the parties allows the American people to see, in real time, their positions on the president's agenda and the issues of the day. It's actually very informative and helpful to be able to easily assess which proposals the Republicans and Democrats support, respectively, through the decision to applaud. It also allows us to identify the few party-bucking independent thinkers who, every so often, stand up to clap while the rest of their colleagues remain seated.

If the President acts Presidential it won't matter where they all sit...

The room will be standing most of the time.

I personally think such an arrangement should be adopted all the time...

Make it harder for them to get nasty with each other if they are sitting close to 'opposing' views.

i agree, overall, i think it is a good idea...