President Obama is set to deliver his final State of the Union address, and word is this one will be different.
The White House says President Barack Obama's State of the Union address Tuesday night will be non-traditional.
What that means: Obama will be talking about himself, not asking Congress for a long list of items he knows he'll never get. [...]
"What I want to focus on in this State of the Union address," Obama said in a video preview the White House released Wednesday, is "not just the remarkable progress we've made, not just what I want to get done in the year ahead, but what we all need to do together in the years to come -- the big things that will guarantee an even stronger, better, more prosperous America for our kids. The America we believe in. That's what's on my mind."
So rather than trying to bring Congress to its senses, it sounds like Obama will be trying to bring the American people to theirs, reminding his audience that fear and hate aren’t the only options. Without Congress, he can’t call for sweeping changes in the next year, but he can try to lay the groundwork for longer-term organizing projects on things like gun laws.
One question for your drinking game and/or friendly wagers: If Obama mentions the fact that he won’t be running for president again, will Republicans cheer? If they remember all the way back to last year, they’ll know it's a bad idea. But would they be able to stop themselves?
We will be liveblogging the State of the Union beginning at 9 PM ET.