The Last State of the Union Speech and 11 Months to Go

President Bush delivered his final State of the Union address last night to a divided Congress. He got a full complement of standing ovations, but mostly from Republicans. The speech contained modest new proposals, positive language about Iraq and a call for bipartisanship on the economy. Democrats called it the last gasp of a failed presidency. Even Republicans were hard-pressed to celebrate. Senator John McCain didn't even show up. Was anybody listening? George W. Bush will be the most powerful man in the world until January of next year. What are the prospects for his lame-duck administration? What will history say about the "compassionate conservative" who ended up focused on partisanship and warfare?