Obama To Keep Pushing Agenda In Congressional Address

Thirty-six days into his presidency, with the stimulus battle behind him, Barack Obama will address to a joint session of Congress Tuesday night. The address marks a transition from his fight to pass the $787 billion stimulus package to his new battles ranging from implementing his agenda on health care and education to cutting the deficit in half by the end of his presidency.

In the State Of The Union-like speech, the president will “present a road map for ‘how we get to a better day,’” as senior aide David Axelrod told the New York Times. He will focus largely on domestic issues, according to White House officials, opting to discuss how he can implement his campaign promises despite the economic crisis and budget deficit.

The president has kept squarely in the public eye during his first month in office, reaching out to ordinary Americans while pushing the stimulus package by stumping campaign-style in economically depressed communities. He has courted legislators somewhat more quietly, meeting privately with Capitol Hill Republicans and inviting supporters and opponents to a Super Bowl party and to travel with him.

His address Tuesday night reflects a hybrid of these approaches, an effort to win hold onto public opinion while also signaling to Congress where he plans to go from here. Political watchers will be closely monitoring which President Obama shows up: The candidate whose lofty rhetoric about hope and change energized supporters during the campaign, the somber president who stressed the dire economic situation while pushing his recovery package, or something in between.

CBSNews.com will Web cast the address at 9:00 p.m. Eastern Time Tuesday night. We will be offering full coverage of the speech, analysis of its effectiveness and a new poll from the CBS News polling unit immediately afterwards to measure reaction to the address among people who’ve watched it. There will also be ample coverage of the response to the address from Louisiana governor Bobby Jindal, a rising star in the GOP and potential 2012 presidential candidate who plans to turn down a portion of the economic stimulus money earmarked for his state.

Following network coverage, we will feature a Web-only special with more reaction and analysis, hosted by Katie Couric. You can submit questions for Katie and the CBS News political team here.