Bush's Final State of the Union

George W. Bush will give his final State of the Union address Monday night.

It will be interesting to hear how he evaluates the state of the union in his final year in office. This is the record his would-be successors will have to deal with.

This is an especially important speech for the Republicans who are contending for their party's presidential nomination. This is the country they seek to inherit from a fellow Republican, and it is his record on which they will have to run, like it or not.

It had been generally assumed that Bush would leave office with the economy strong, if overshadowed by the war in Iraq.

Now, as the New York Times points out, Bush could well leave office in much the same way his father did in 1993, "on an economic sour note, with a reputation for spending so much time worrying about foreign affairs that he forgot about the problems of ordinary Americans at home."

It is expected that the speech will focus on the $150 billion "economic stimulus package" Bush and congressional leaders discussed last week.

One question that hasn't been answered to my satisfaction is -- how will this be paid for?

Bush gives his address at 9 p.m. Eastern on Monday night.

Two nights later, watch the final Republican debate prior to "Tsunami Tuesday" and find out how the State of the Union speech affects the GOP campaign.

And, if you live in Florida, don't forget to vote in the primary on Tuesday.