The Financial Times reports that Bush will make energy a central theme of his State of the Union speech. The Bushies are consciously hyping it:

Al Hubbard, chairman of the National Economic Council, who is co-ordinating White House energy policy, has also raised expectations. In a speech at De Pauw University he predicted "headlines above the fold that will knock your socks off in terms of our commitment to energy independence."

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Then again, says a senior industry lobbyist, "Almost anything Bush says in the speech is irrelevant the day after he says it."

And ThinkProgress helpfully reminds us that Bush promised to work for energy independence in the 2006 SOTU as well. And the 2005 SOTU. And the 2004 SOTU. And the 2003 SOTU. And …

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Are we there yet?