WASHINGTON (CNN) --With polls suggesting public uneasiness on international and domestic issues, President Bush will use his State of the Union address Tuesday night to make the case for a possible war with Iraq and to assure the American people that his administration can revitalize the lethargic U.S. economy.

The president, aides said, will demonstrate that he is attuned to the concerns of ordinary Americans, devoting much of the speech to domestic matters even as he outlines what the administration sees as the threat posed by Iraq's Saddam Hussein.

"What the American public will hear tonight is that President Bush is concerned about the issues that they care most about," White House Communications Director Dan Bartlett said Tuesday.

"The issue of the prospect of war, the issue of holding Saddam Hussein to account is a very important issue. He'll also talk about the important issue of the economy and the need to create jobs in America. He'll talk about the affordability of prescription drugs for America's seniors."

Bush has been rehearsing since Friday. The speech's delivery at 9 p.m. EST Tuesday to a joint session of Congress comes as lawmakers on both sides of the aisle say Bush must do more to convince the American public that a military strike against Iraq is justified and necessary.

And the president once again will pitch his 10-year, roughly $674 billion economic plan, which has played to mixed reviews on Capitol Hill.

While some Republicans have praised the president's plan -- which includes a call to eliminate the tax on stock dividends -- as just the right tonic for a lackluster economy, others have been less than enthusiastic about the package, and Democrats have derided it as a giveaway to the wealthy.

Top congressional Democrats gave what they described as a "prebuttal" to the president's speech Monday, criticizing him on the economy and national security.

Washington Gov. Gary Locke will give the Democrats' response to Bush's speech Tuesday night.

In the days leading up to the speech, administration aides and congressional allies have fanned out, offering broad outlines of what Bush is expected to say and attempting to drum up support for the president's message.

"We have great challenges," Bartlett said Sunday on CNN's "Late Edition With Wolf Blitzer. "And [the president] knows, and he's going to talk about how the American people are equal to the task. "

On challenges abroad, the focus is expected to be Iraq.

The address comes one day after chief U.N. weapons inspector Hans Blix told the U.N. Security Council that Iraq has yet to reach a "genuine acceptance" of its obligation to disarm, and U.S. officials announced they soon would declassify intelligence they say proves Iraq has been hiding weapons and evidence of its weapons programs.

Bush's speech will stop short of a declaration of war, but it will detail the "grave and direct" threat posed by Saddam Hussein and what steps the United States plans to take in "this last phase of the diplomatic process," Bartlett said.

Bush also will give an update on the war on terrorism, Bartlett said.