All Eyes on Obama Speech Tonight

Obama will address the congress tonight

WASHINGTON (Reuters) – President Barack Obama takes center stage on Tuesday to try to sell the American people on his broader agenda for jolting the United States out of deep recession and confronting long-term economic challenges.

Riding high in opinion polls, Obama will deliver a State of the Union-style address at 9 p.m. EST in his first appearance before a joint session of Congress since he took office five weeks ago.

The primetime speech, the opening act on Capitol Hill for any new president, comes in a pivotal week for Obama. He will roll out his first budget proposal on Thursday against a backdrop of growing public anxiety over the worst economic crisis in decades.

In a stark reminder of how grim the situation has become, Wall Street slumped to a 12-year low on Monday as investors worried about the government nationalizing ailing major banks, a prospect the White House tried to play down.

Obama will be looking to trade on his popularity and personal suasion when he stands before the Senate and House of Representatives to try to reassure Americans about what he is doing — and what he plans to do — to halt the crisis.

The speech is sure to be his most closely watched performance since his January 20 inauguration as America’s 44th president.

“It won’t be enough just to look presidential,” said Stephen Wayne, a political scientist at Georgetown University. “What he needs to be is explainer-in-chief.”