U.S. President George W. Bush pauses as Vice President Dick Cheney (L) and House Speaker Dennis Hastert applaud at the start of the State of the Union address at the U.S. Capitol in Washington, February 2, 2005. (Photo: Yahoo/Reuters)

    WASHINGTON, Feb. 2 (Xinhua) -- US President George W. Bush delivered on Wednesday night his first State of the Union address since re-election, focusing on his plan for overhauling Social Security and on the need to stay the course in Iraq.

    Bush started a 40-minute speech to a joint session of Congress at 9:05 p.m. EST (0205 GMT Thursday). Millions of Americans are expected to watch the televised speech.

    "This evening I will set forth policies to advance that ideal at home and around the world," Bush said at the beginning of his speech.

    The White House said Bush's address will be divided evenly between domestic policy and foreign affairs. Social Security and Iraq were expected to top the State of Union agenda. Enditem