The president gives his first State of the Union Address on Wednesday night. Let us know what you think. Has he said anything that changes your opinion of how the country is doing?

John Hockenberry walks through some moments from past State of the Union addresses, looking at the themes that always recur: the economy, health care, jobs, the deficit and changes big and small to our constitution and government.

While political pundits are assessing what they think President Obama needs to do in his first State of the Union Address, we're taking a more grass-roots approach.  Three talk show hosts share what their listeners want from the President's speech tonight, and true to form for talk radio, they're not afraid to speak their minds.

• MONEY TAKEOUT: New York Times business and finance reporter Louise Story previews some of the revelations set to unfold as the House begins hearings into the government's bailout of AIG. 
• SPORTS TAKEOUT: The Takeaway's sports contributor Ibrahim Abdul-Matin recaps the latest in tennis's Australian Open.
• LISTENERS TAKEOUT:  In advance of the President’s address tonight, our listeners describe the state of the union in six words.

From its constitutional origins, the State of the Union speech – State of the Union message, gesture, whatever you want to call it – has evolved into a big media event worthy of the Kremlin. Although Article 2 merely directed the president “from time to time” to report on the state of the union, it’s now an annual speech, followed by a response from the party out of power and media evaluations of the president’s own evaluation of the state of the union. What would the framers think about this sober, elaborate ritual, picked apart by the jabbering class commenting on who smiled, who applauded and who walked out?

Ahead of President Obama's first State of the Union address, we talk with presidential historian Doris Kearns Goodwin, whose most recent book is "Team of Rivals: The Political Genius of Abraham Lincoln." She weighs in on Obama’s job performance so far and helps us understand how history might remember this particular moment in his presidency.

Over the weekend, President Obama visited Lorain County, Ohio as part of his continuing Main Street tour. How are people in Ohio feeling about Obama's first year in office and on the eve of his first State of the Union address?

After big setbacks for the Democratic Party, President Obama is reconstituting the political team that helped him win the 2008 election. But will this be enough for the party to stave off losses in the mid-term elections — or even further ahead to 2012? Bruce Reed, the CEO of the Democratic Leadership Council and Reihan Salam, fellow at the New America Foundation assess the president's — and the party's — options.

We give you all you need to know about the news we expect to come in the next seven days. This week, we take a look at what to expect in President Obama's first State of the Union address. We'll also look ahead at how the president  is planning to stop what appears to be a tailspin for the Democrats; Ben Bernanke's confirmation as Fed chairman; the relief effort in Haiti; and the start of the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland.

The president delivers his first State of the Union address this week. We're asking listeners, guests and readers to give us their own impressions: Describe the State of the Union in six words or less.