Obama's goals for State of Union speech

WASHINGTON - For President Barack Obama, it's time to shift gears.

Ahead of his second State of the Union address Tuesday night, Obama has signaled that he'll sound a new bipartisan tone and a new centrist theme for this year as he looks to his re-election campaign in 2012.

But analysts said they expect Obama also to shift from last year's message of resilience in the face of the Great Recession to a renewed call for government and businesses to kick it up a notch to get the economy humming and creating jobs.

And Obama must explain how he'll invest in the future and still reduce the deficit.

When Obama steps up to the podium in the House at 9 p.m. Tuesday night, he'll be speaking to a joint session of Congress in which lawmakers from the two parties will, for the first time in recent memory, cross the aisle and sit together.

In that unusual but largely symbolic setting, here are five things he must do:

Tout his economic program

Buoyed by renewed momentum and approval ratings above 50 percent, Obama must use Tuesday night's spotlight to make the case that his programs of the past two years have worked.

Yet Obama must also turn the page, shifting his focus from economic security to economic growth, said Jim Kessler of the Third Way Foundation, a centrist Democratic group.

"Health care was the completion of the safety net that took 85 years to build," Kessler said. "The next major challenge for America is to grow at a rate strong enough to afford the safety net we've now completed."

Recent good news about the economy, however, is tempered by bad news: Unemployment remains at over 9 percent and experts expect it to come down only gradually.

Tuesday night Obama must focus more than before on jobs, and he must make a case to a skeptical House GOP that it's wiser to invest in education and research, not just cut budgets.

"My number one focus is going to be making sure that we are competitive, and we are creating jobs not just now, but well into the future," Obama said recently.

Call for bipartisanship

Obama will renew his annual call for bipartisanship, a State of the Union tradition, but he must try to demonstrate that it's more than lip service.

Obama has a chance to succeed because he will have a more receptive audience Tuesday night, Kessler said, following the tax deal in the lame duck Congress, the tragic Tucson shootings and the mixed congressional seating.

"The president has an opportunity to fulfill the promise of changing the tone," he said.

Yet Hofstra University presidential scholar Meena Bose said the speech will be almost a formality. "The real negotiations will be taking place after the speech, not in the speech."

Take a stand

Obama also must take a stand on some Democratic issues "so he doesn't look like a milquetoast," said American University professor Robert Lehrman, formerly a speechwriter for Vice President Al Gore.

As he moves to the middle, Obama must show his liberal base he still stands with them on key issues, such as his signature health care law.

"He should use the State of the Union to draw a firm line in the sand against any reduction of the Social Security benefits that American workers earned, paid for and do not want to see cut," said Adam Green of the liberal Progressive Change Campaign Committee.

Take note of Tucson

Obama should add a note of sadness on the tragedy of Tucson, the shooting that shook America, Lehrman said.

Some survivors and the heroic intern of critically wounded Rep. Gabrielle Giffords (D-Ariz.) are expected to attend, and Obama must acknowledge the suffering and its aftermath.

But he must not point fingers, and should use it to underscore the need for civility.

Inspire and instill confidence

Obama will be in a room filled with politicians listening for his list of proposals Tuesday night, but the president's bigger, and more important, audience will be watching him at home.

While most Americans want to know his agenda, they also are looking for leadership.

And for them, Lehrman said, "Obama must be optimistic and inspirational."

Green noted Obama's much praised memorial speech two weeks ago in Tucson.

"The president showed in Arizona that when he is willing to make a strong case, the American people are willing to respond," said Green.