Bush returned Sunday to the White House from the presidential retreat at Camp David, Maryland, to put the finishing touches on his speech to a joint session of the US Congress. He offered a preview Saturday in his weekly radio address, and an official said on condition of anonymity that Bush was to announce "the path we are on is the right path."

The address comes a day after the Iowa state caucuses -- the first in a long series of contests to decide which Democratic candidate will challenge Bush in November.

Political analysts say this election is as tight as the 2000 race, in which Bush lost the popular vote but won in the Electoral College after the US Supreme Court decided to award Florida's disputed electoral votes to Bush.

The speech also comes a year after Bush declared Iraq, Iran and North Korea an "axis of evil" for supporting terrorism and pursuing nuclear, biological and chemical weapons, and said the United States would use military force to prevent threats against it.

This year, Bush is expected instead to focus on his successes, such as the economy, which has turned the corner in recent months.

"Tax relief has helped turn our economy around. We've doubled the child tax credit, cut taxes for everyone who pays income taxes and increased incentives for small businesses to invest in new equipment and create jobs," Bush said in his radio address. "The results are clear. Our economy grew at its fastest pace in two decades in the third quarter of 2003. Manufacturers are seeing a rebound in new orders in factory activity. And more than a quarter-million new jobs have been created since August."

Bush also was expected to ask Congress to make permanent tax cuts adopted in 2001 and 2002 and could also seek a law allowing US workers to contribute part of their payroll taxes in private retirement funds, fulfilling a campaign promise.

On the international front, Bush can claim credit for the arrest last month of ousted Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein, even though al-Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden, mastermind of the September 11, 2001, terrorist attacks on the United States, remains at large.