Washington (CNN) -- It is the second big speech of his presidency's second act, but there is little or nothing to suggest President Barack Obama's State of the Union Address offers any hope of a new beginning or a new spirit in divided Washington. Consider the vast partisan differences in expectations. "Obama core supporters are getting what they hoped for in 2009," says veteran Democratic pollster and strategist Peter Hart. "He is a president who seems both more confident and at the same time at home with himself both legislatively and philosophically." If there is one certainty in today's political climate, it is that when one party is happy, the other is not.
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President Obama to give his first State of the Union address of his second term on Tuesday
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On the eve of speech, gridlock in Washington continues to be the biggest obstacle
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He is expected to lay out an agenda focusing on the economy, guns, immigration
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Looking at other two-term presidents, this next year will be crucial to get things done
More broadly, he sees a new @placeholder in the second act even if Washington's partisan polarization is a sharp as ever.