By Rob Watson BBC Washington Correspondent

The Bushes are already practising their campaign waves

His basic pitch: In November Americans will be safer and better off if they stick with his leadership for another four years.

Attempting to define the choice the voters will face in November he said it was "between an America that leads the world with strength and confidence - or an America that is uncertain in the face of danger".

If his state of the Union Address in January was the false start to his re-election campaign, White House officials hope this will be the real thing.

The best-laid plans

It all represents some major rethinking by the president's campaign managers.

The original plan had gone something like this:

• Raise more money than any other candidate in history and hold off on electioneering until the Democrats had at least nominated a challenger
• Open fire on the eventual nominee with both barrels.

But then things have hardly gone to plan.

Much to the surprise of the White House, the Democratic Party has not gone into self-destruct during its search for a presidential nominee.

Instead the challengers have spent most of their time attacking the president rather than each other with the party faithful uniting around their intense dislike of George W Bush.

Added to that, the latest opinion polls suggest the president's job approval rating has dropped to worryingly low levels for a man seeking re-election.

That in turn has led to just a hint of panic among Republicans who've been wondering when the president going to hit back.

Election starts early

So this speech is part of the president's response.

Kerry is already campaigning himself

It will be followed up, we are told, by an extensive national advertising campaign and a series of appearances by senior Republicans sticking it to the Democrats and praising the president in pretty much equal measure.

The Democrats themselves have already dismissed Mr Bush's speech as a sign of desperation.

The front-runner for the party's nomination, Senator John Kerry said the president's speech show he is "on the run".

"And I think he's on the run because he doesn't have a record to run on," Mr Kerry went on.

Stripping aside the rhetoric from both Democrats and Republicans, what is certain is that this is an election season that is starting unseasonably early.

Though public opinion polls suggest a majority of Americans have now started paying attention to presidential politics, both sides need to be careful not to peak too early.