Just now on CNN, Dana Bash reported that (supposedly at Bush's own insistence) gay marriage will be a topic in tonight's speech. The details she had were pretty hazy and milquetoast-- mentioning the fact that the Defense of Marriage Act is the law of the land, its been challenged by the court ruling in Mass., urging Americans to "examine" what we define marriage as (perhaps a lead-in to the general marriage promotion waste-of-deficit-money)-- basically saying that Bush wants to bring it up without getting intense or offending anyone.
I'm predicting it backfires. Sure, the social conservatives and evangelicals would kill him if he didn't bring it up and there will probably be some sort of wink-wink language inserted there to make them happy, but just like the Diane Sawyer interview where he endorsed the FMA as a "last resort," no one will leave satisfied. Except this time, with no Paris Hilton to distract the American people and garner higher ratings while all the networks run the speech (who knows, the re-airing of "American Idol" immediately before it on Fox might draw in some of that audience), the shameless politicking of this issue will be on display for all to see.