State of the Union Tonight

The president's next-to-last State of the Union speech will be tonight. The New York Times has a preview:

Carrying some of the worst public approval ratings of any president in a generation, President Bush is heading into his State of the Union address on Tuesday night seeking to revitalize his domestic agenda but facing stiff resistance over the initiatives the White House has previewed so far.

Administration officials said Monday that among Mr. Bush’s proposals would be a plan to help states provide health care coverage to people who lack insurance by diverting federal aid from hospitals, especially public institutions. The provision is likely to draw loud criticism from municipalities across the nation and will significantly affect the New York City Health and Hospitals Corporation, the nation’s largest municipal health care system.

Officials said Mr. Bush’s speech would include proposals to address the nation’s energy needs and global warming, partly by promoting the use and development of alternative fuels. He is also expected to renew his call for an overhaul of immigration law and to propose altering tax policies to help the uninsured.

The president’s advisers said they hoped Mr. Bush’s address would re-energize his domestic agenda by striking a bipartisan and ambitious tone as he faces further isolation on his Iraq policy.

“The power of the ideas requires people to take notice and take seriously important domestic initiatives,” said Dan Bartlett, the White House counselor. “There will be key signals to the American people that despite disagreements over the war, other work can be done.”

I won't be watching. The sight of the president speaking with Nancy Pelosi staring bug-eyed into the camera from over his right shoulder is not something that's worth my time.

Captain Ed is afraid the president may take a page from Arnold Schwarzenegger "who reversed his falling approval ratings by stealing the Democratic playbook while they weren't paying attention". Given his approval numbers, I'm not sure there's anything he could say in this speech that will have any significant effect on his presidency, and if he trots out a bunch of domestic spending or initiatives on global warming and such, he might as well let Pelosi give the speech.