On Monday night, if U.S. President George Bush really wants to make nice with his critics there's one group he needs to specifically address in his State of the Union speech -- the Dixie Chicks.

"If he wants to heal the country's divisions there doesn't seem to be any better thing to do than reach out to the Dixie Chicks," Renan Levine, a professor of U.S. politics at the University of Toronto, told CTV.ca.

"They are walking, talking, singing personifications of the divisions in the country and, yes, they are all from Texas.

"There needs to be a Bush-Dixie Chicks lovefest."

In 2003, country stations in the U.S. quit playing the Chicks after singer Natalie Maines criticized Bush in the lead up to the Iraq War.

Nearly five years later, Iraq continues to evoke strong opinions, the economy is in decline and Bush has about a 34 per cent approval rating.

Adding to his troubles, Bush will have to deliver his final State of the Union address before a hostile Democratic Congress and a country concerned more about the candidates running to replace him in 2009.

So, the big question is, what is he going to talk about?

If the list of topics on the website for the State of the Union Address Drinking Game 2008 is any indication, Bush is not likely to say anything new.

Players of the game are encouraged to take a shot of alcohol every time Bush says a 'trigger' word like 'Iraq', 'nukular' or 'Ahmadinejad' (two shots if he pronounces Ahmadinejad correctly.)

Three shots required, since it's an unlikely scenario, if Bush "takes off his shirt and reveals that he is actually a human-animal hybrid."

Even more improbable, since it didn't even make the list, is Bush mentioning the Dixie Chicks.

That means no apologies for Iraq and most likely a reaffirmation of how the situation is improving.

"This is a president who staked his presidency on the success of the war in Iraq," said Renan. "From his perspective it's very important to stress the fact that, by many indicators, the surge appears to be working.

"He wants to be able to persuade many Americans that the decision that was made was the right one and that they are fighting a war that the U.S. feels... they can win."

Bush does not want the upcoming presidential campaign to be about "Get our boys home. Get our boys out," said Renan.

The U.S. president also wants to, while admitting that errors were made, claim that the war overall was not a mistake, said Renan.

The Economy

Despite his lame duck status, LeeAundra Temescu, a communications coach who studies political rhetoric, said Bush can use the State of the Union address to make himself relevant again.

"This isn't about burnishing his legacy, this isn't about introducing bold, new proposals," Temescu told CTV.ca. "This is about making the American people and Congress know that he is still the president and he is still relevant to the political process in the United States."

To do that, Temescu said Bush needs to focus his speech on the economy -- which she says is the number one issue on the minds of Americans.

Last Thursday, Congressional leaders announced a deal with the White House on an economic stimulus package that will see cash refunds for most U.S. tax filers.

"He will have to go beyond that and he will have to introduce long-term proposals for how he will continue to stimulate the economy and perhaps even announce some reforms to make sure that things like the sub-prime lending crisis don't happen again," said Temescu.

On Iraq, Temescu said if she was advising Bush she'd tell him to keep his comments on the subject short.

If Bush's speech proves successful, Temescu said he could gain more political leverage.

"It wouldn't be that difficult for him to get enough leverage out of this speech in order to influence Congress to do what he wants them to do -- right now they're at a stalemate."

While unlikely, Temescu said Bush should use the speech to reach out to the Democrats. With even Republicans not wanting to be associated with Bush, Temescu said the president has nothing to lose.

"He can use this opportunity to truly, truly reach across the aisle, to really make a bi-partisan effort," she said. "But I don't think he's going to do that."

Four shots if he does.