"We may not be able to stop all evil in the world, but I know that how we treat one another, that's entirely up to us," said Obama.

Brighter approval ratings are also due to what Americans view as Obama's skilled handling of a speech honoring the victims of recent shootings in Tucson, Arizona, in which he urged more civility in the national discourse.

Political analyst John Fortier of the American Enterprise Institute says had the president delivered the State of the Union Address directly after last November's mid-term congressional elections, he would be in a weaker position.

But compromises he struck with Republicans have positioned him as someone pursuing a new pragmatism, something Americans appreciate.

"You do see the president already having some indication that he is moving to the middle, that he has a kind of pragmatism," noted Fortier.

This State of the Union Address comes as nearly 150,000 U.S. troops remain in Afghanistan and Iraq, with opinion polls showing the Afghan war extremely unpopular among Americans. Mr. Obama will again pay tribute to the sacrifices of the military.

Whatever the themes of the address, it's all but confirmed that President Obama intends to stand for re-election.

With a re-tooled White House staff helping to further cement his image as a political moderate rather than a far left liberal, and deal with strengthened Republican control of Congress, he is already establishing the political machinery for 2012.