What is our State of the Union exactly?

As I sat down with my tea to watch the State of the Union address this week there was a great deal of coverage on the major news networks. Much like a sporting event, anticipation of every move and goal was predicted and analyzed. What struck me was not the pre-game coverage or the panels of experts covering an event that has yet to unfold fully. No, not even Bush's use of terms like "evil" or "our national interest" surprised me. Yet, the most striking of all the rhetoric and spinning phrases was the utter emptiness of his words. He managed to weave some very graphic images depicting a dystopian, violent world if we pull out of Iraq and the war on terror. At the end of his speech I noticed that I had no idea what the "state of our union" was. More importantly, where it would be heading in the next two years.
As the Washington arena begins to assimilate more players, maybe we will see the lines of partisanship once so clear and stark hopefully blur. I have my doubts.