US/IRAQ: The State of the Union speech is always an occasion of great political theatre, and tonight two of the bit players will be sure of a thunderous reception from Congress members gathered for President George Bush's annual address.
They are a voter from Afghanistan and one from Iraq who have been invited to sit with First lady Laura Bush as a symbol of the advance of democracy in the two countries the US has invaded since 9/11. Mrs Bush told NBC's Today show that the voters would serve as "a sign that people the world over want to live in freedom" in their country.
Indeed, Mr Bush is expected to mention a third election in his speech - in the Palestinian territories - to underline the success of his self-proclaimed mission of spreading democracy in the Middle East. There has been no more timely illustration of Mr Bush's inauguration call to end tyranny than that of Iraqi voters happily displaying fingers marked with purple dye to show they had cast their ballots.
The State of the Union address, which Mr Bush will deliver at 9.00 p.m. (2.00 a.m. Irish time) has reportedly gone through several drafts since the Iraq elections. At its heart now is Mr Bush's message to Americans that the effort to get to this day was worth it. "The President sees this to be a universal trait of all people, this longing to control their destiny," a senior administration official was quoted as saying. "People when presented with that opportunity reach out and grab it."
The big turnout in Iraq has also strengthened the President's hand for an appeal to allies to get more involved in its future. Following his calls to EU leaders on Monday, Mr Bush yesterday phoned the Russian President, Mr Vladimir Putin; NATO Secretary General Mr Jaap de Hoop Scheffer; European Commission President Mr José Manuel Barroso; and Mexican President Vicente Fox, to urge them to help maintain the momentum, said White House spokesman Mr Scott McClellan. President Putin said in December there could not be fair elections under military occupation, but the two presidents, who will meet in Slovakia later this month, agreed that the elections "marked an important step forward for the Iraqi people in building their country", Mr McClellan said.
Mr Bush's conversation with the NATO leader centred on the possibility of it stepping up training for the Iraqi army, he said. The President is not expected to outline a detailed plan for future US involvement in Iraq but "will talk a bit about the way forward on Iraq", another official said. The euphoria in Washington over the election is tempered with the reality of the continuing insurgency and the White House seems intent on lowering expectations for an immediate improvement. Both Democrats and Republicans, while hailing the courage of Iraqi voters, have expressed concern about the violence that has taken the lives of over 1,400 US soldiers. Republican Senator Chuck Hagel said he was pleasantly surprised at the turnout in Iraq but warned that the vote did not change the reality that the attacks would continue and the Iraqi government could not defend the population or support its own people economically.
Senate minority leader Mr Harry Reid said that in the address "the President needs to spell out a real and understandable plan for the unfinished work ahead: defeat the growing insurgency, rebuild Iraq, increase political participation by all parties, especially Iraq's moderates, and increase international involvement". Mr Bush is likely to get a tumultuous reception on Capitol Hill this evening and he will seek to use the surge of political momentum to advance his ambitious domestic agenda, analysts say. Many elements of the speech will be repackaged commitments heard every year at this time. Top of the agenda will be his plan to partially privatise social security, which has figured in every address to Congress since 2000.
The difference this time is that Mr Bush is working hard to push through a radical change with the political capital he said he earned in the election. However, many Republicans facing re-election in two years are wary about the political risks from tampering with a popular programme, and Capitol Hill is more bitterly divided on partisan lines than anyone can remember.
Under the plan workers would divert some of their social security taxes to private accounts, which could provide some bigger benefits - and boost investment business on Wall Street - but would carry risks and undermine the guarantee of set pensions in future.