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Just got off of a conference call with Karl Rove previewing tomorrow's State of the Union Speech. Rove said President Bush's speech will be roughly 40 minutes, with about half devoted to domestic affairs and half devoted to foreign policy. Bush will lay out his plan for balancing the budget within five years and discuss earmarks and the need for entitlement reform. He'll talk about immigration, judges and education (pushing renewal of No Child Left Behind). He'll emphasize the strength of the U.S. economy, which he'll discuss more in speeches next week. A good chunk of the speech will be devoted to healthcare and energy.

On healthcare, President Bush will offer a "two step proposal":

--Create a "level playing field" so that individuals and small businesses can enjoy the same tax incentives for purchasing their own health insurance as large corporations.

--Create an "affordable choices" program to help individual states that have programs to help the poor purchase healthcare.

 On energy, President Bush will:

--Call for a significant reduction in gasoline usage within 10 years, by relying on new technologies and alternative fuels.

--Call for a boost in domestic production of oil as we transition to increased use of alternative fuels.

On foreign policy, President Bush will review the events of the last five plus years, and reiterate his "surge" proposal, challenging Democrats who disagree to present a viable alternative, given the dire consequences of defeat in Iraq. He'll talk about Iraq within the broader Shiite vs. Sunni conflict, and argue that whatever differences these two groups have, they share many Islamist goals: fighting democracy, attacking the U.S., destroying Israel, and trying to create a new Caliphate. President Bush will also talk about "international compassion" initiatives, such as helping battle AIDS in Africa.      

topics:
Foreign Policy, Education, Business, Earmarks, Islam, Iraq, Israel, Africa, Immigration, Energy, Oil