Expect more civil than sizzle from Obama

They may have to call Tuesday night's 2011 model of America's annual presidential address The State of the Civil Union.

Civility - even more so than any specific policy issue - is the top buzzword for President Obama's yearly report to Congress and the nation, thanks to the deadly shooting spree that targeted U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords in Tucson, Ariz., as well as a growing national debate over heated political rhetoric.

In a symbolic display of what has been rare - bipartisan comity - many members of Congress are expected to sit in the audience with colleagues who are usually found on the other side of the aisle. And when they do, they're likely to hear a more low-key Obama than the one who lashed out at stunned Supreme Court justices last year.

"He's [Obama] going to be talking about civility and they're all going to be sitting together - it's not exactly a love-in but maybe it's a civil-in," said Larry Sabato, the University of Virginia historian and political pundit.

But the nods to civility do not mean that there is no potential for drama. Will Obama continue what some see as a drift toward the political center, and will he adequately address the jobs issue that still haunts his presidency after two years? Here are some questions and answers:

Q. I heard something about Sputnik: Why is the president going to be speaking about a Soviet satellite from the 1950s?

A. Political observers say that Obama appeared to be sounding out State of the Union themes when he recently told a North Carolina audience that "our generation's Sputnik moment is back" - referring to how that early Soviet victory in the Cold War space race fueled better science education and a stronger focus on technology in America.

Tuesday night, experts expect Obama to tell the nation that the competitive threats that America faces in 2011 are economic ones, and that the nation must invest heavily in its education and infrastructure to keep pace with emerging powers such as China and India.

Q. And how exactly will he propose to do that?

A. According to ABC News, Obama told leading Democrats that the "pillars" of his speech would be innovation, education, infrastructure, tackling the national debt and government reform, but that they shouldn't expect a so-called "laundry list" of specific programs.

Q. Most experts say that a State of the Union address should lift the nation's spirits, but how can Obama do that when unemployment continues to linger well above 9 percent?

A. Obama and his aides are surely wondering the same thing.

Michael Waldman - author of My Fellow Americans, about the history of presidential speeches, who drafted several State of the Union speeches for President Bill Clinton - said that people want an optimistic sense of the country, that a better future is attainable.

"People don't need the president to be a commentator on economic decline, but they want to know what he's going to do about it," said Waldman who, like many observers, believes that Obama has missed his opportunities so far to focus attention on how America can solve the jobs crisis.

Q. So is everyone in Congress on board with this bipartisan seating scheme?

A. Many, but not all. On one hand, South Carolina Rep. Joe Wilson - who famously shouted "You lie!" at Obama during a 2009 speech - will be sitting with two Democrats. But Georgia's ultraconservative Rep. Paul Broun says that he won't do it and that mixed seating "is just another way to silence Republicans . . . "

Q. What are Republicans planning in response to Obama?

A. It should tell you something about the state of disunity in the GOP that there will be two rebuttals - the official response from Rep. Paul Ryan, of Wisconsin, and a tea-party-oriented one from outspoken Minnesota Rep. Michele Bachmann.

It's been reported that Ryan's party-sanctioned response will focus heavily on the need for spending cuts, and will state that Republicans will not sign off on an increase in the federal debt ceiling unless the White House agrees to austerity measures.

Q. Any special guests I should keep my eye out for?

A. Yes. One of those slated to sit with first lady Michelle Obama Tuesday night is West Philadelphia High School junior Brandon Ford, one of the kids on the Hybrid X team who developed an award-winning fuel-efficient vehicle in a student competition.

Among the others whom the first lady will be hosting are the parents of 9-year-old Tucson shooting fatality Christina Green, the granddaughter of former Phillies skipper Dallas Green.