Anita Dunn: Obama Will Take "Thematic Approach" in State of the Union Address

Former White House communications director Anita Dunn says President Obama will take a "thematic approach" in his State of the Union address this evening.

In a Tuesday interview on CBS' "Washington Unplugged," Dunn told CBS News political analyst John Dickerson that Mr. Obama would use the speech as an opportunity to talk "serioussly with the American people about where we've been, and more importantly, where we're going to go and what we need to do to get there."

"Rather than starting to release specific pieces of policy, instead they've taken a far more thematic approach," Dunn said.

Dunn also emphasized that Mr. Obama was in a "very different situation tonight than he's been for the last two years."

"The President tonight goes before Congress and for the first time in his presidency, it's not in a crisis mode," Dunn continued. "The financial system didn't collapse. The recession, as horrible and painful as it was, is hopefully over."

"We've seen sustained private sector job growth now for a number of months," she continued. "We're hoping that we're beginning to look at, 'how do we grow,' as opposed to, 'how do we stop the hemorrhaging.'"