Bush to deliver fifth State of the Union address

US President George Bush is delivering his fifth State of the Union address in the early hours of tomorrow after arguably the worst year of his presidency, looking to reinvigorate confidence in his leadership and the US role in the world.

The speech gives the president an opportunity to lay out his agenda in this mid-term election year directly to Congress and the American people. He will try to ease anxiety about continuing US troop deaths in Iraq and the high price of fuel and health care that are dampening Americans’ view of the economy.

He will argue that his programme to secretly eavesdrop on communications between people in the US and suspected terrorists overseas is not only legal, but necessary, despite the questions raised by legal experts.

He will also urge Congress to renew the controversial portions of the anti-terrorism USA Patriot Act, set to expire on Friday and blocked by politicians insisting on new privacy safeguards.

And he will touch on ethics, declaring support for reform as a lobbying scandal threatens members of his own party on Capitol Hill.

The speech comes as Bush’s job approval ratings have rebounded somewhat, but still hover in the high 30s to low 40s in most polls. About two-thirds of Americans say in recent polls that the country is headed down the wrong track.

The numbers give Republicans cause for worry as they look to maintain control of Congress in this fall’s midterm elections.

The Democratic response to the president’s speech was being delivered by Virginia Governor Timothy Kaine, considered a rising star in the party after winning office last year in a Southern state that went for Bush in 2004. Democrats hope to replicate his victory in congressional elections.

Bush planned to talk extensively about Iraq and the war on terror in the speech, in which he said he would describe America’s responsibility to lead the world in promoting freedom and sound economic principles.

But as he did last year, Bush is using the address to launch a nationwide discussion about domestic priorities. Four topics – healthcare, energy, competitiveness and controlled government spending – will dominate his schedule for the next month as he plans a series of speeches across the country to promote his ideas in more detail.

The speech ran 38 minutes in Bush’s two practice sessions on the eve of the address. That didn’t include interruptions for applause that will come from the Republican-controlled Congress.

Much of what Bush will say is a repackaging of proposals he has made before.

Bush is expected to promote one of his favourite ideas – expanding health saving accounts, the high-deductible healthcare plan that allows Americans to contribute money tax-free to health savings plans, as well as greater tax deductions for out-of-pocket medical expenses.

He will talk about alternative energy sources and tout his administration’s work in that field for the past five years. He will push for new technologies and more fuel from cleaner sources like hydrogen and ethanol – ideas he has been touting since his first year in office.

Bush’s new initiative to reprocess spent nuclear fuel from overseas to expand nuclear energy in the US was not polished enough for the State of the Union address. But the president will discuss the plan, a reversal of decades of US policy, later next month in speeches to flesh out his energy plan, aides said.

The State of the Union address begins at 2am Irish time tomorrow.