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State of the Union

President George W. Bush prepares his State of the Union Address with White House speechwriters Matthew Scully, left, Mike Gerson, center, and John McConnell in the Oval Office Jan. 23, 2003. President Bush reviews the text with Director of Presidential Speechwriting Michael Gerson in the Oval Office, Jan. 23, 2003. Sketching notes in the margin of speech drafts, President Bush rewrites portions of the address in the Oval Office Jan. 23, 2003. President Bush gives his speechwriting team a few points after revising the State of the Union Address in the Oval Office Jan. 23, 2003. Meeting with the President are, from left, Matthew Scully, John McConnell, Mike Gerson and Advisor Karen Hughes.
President Bush practices his address in the family theater of the White House Jan. 24, 2003. Each prepared with their own draft of the State of the Union Address, a select group of advisers listen to President Bush’s delivery of his speech in the family theater of the White House Jan. 24, 2003. Advisor Karen Hughes reviews parts of the speech with White House Staff Secretary Harriet Miers and Director of Communications Dan Bartlett as White House speechwriters confer behind them during a rehearsal in the family theater of the White House Jan. 26, 2003. Using teleprompters and a podium in the family theater of the White House Jan. 26, 2003, President Bush practices the State of the Union address under similar circumstances in which he will deliver the actual address at the U.S. Capitol.

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