From today’s lead story in the Washington Post:
For years, President Bush and his advisers expressed frustration that the White House received little credit for the nation’s strong economic performance because of public discontent about the Iraq war. Today, the president is getting little credit for improved security in Iraq, as the public increasingly focuses on a struggling U.S. economy.
That is the problem Bush faces as he prepares to deliver his seventh and probably final State of the Union address tonight. â¦
That’s a strange hedging, no?
(Thanks to TPM Reader JL for the catch.)
Late Update: I knew this would get political junkies’ juices flowing. Lots of readers are noting that the Constitution doesn’t limit the State of the Union to an annual occurrence, but merely “from time to time.”
Here’s the skinny:
Finally, President George W. Bush is set to deliver his next State of the Union Address on January 28, 2008. It is widely believed that this will be his last address before leaving office on January 20, 2009, but assuming this is incorrect. Bush has the right to deliver either a written or oral State of the Union in the days immediately before leaving office in 2009. Presidents Truman, Eisenhower, Johnson, Ford, and Carter chose to do this. Presidents Reagan, Bush, and Clinton, chose not to.
So there you have it.
