Stephen Dinan The Washington Times - January 23, 2012, 10:02AM

Wondering what cliche President Obama will use first in his State of the Union speech on Tuesday? So are the oddsmakers.

Paddy Power, Ireland’s biggest bookmaking operation, is giving 8-1 odds that “We have more work to do” will be the first cliche the president is likely to drop. Next-most likely are “As I stand here today,” and “health care reform” — though given the usual structure of State of the Union speeches, that latter one will likely be saved for the last half of the speech.

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Paddy Power also gives 12-1 odds the president will say “God Bless America,” though the usual sign-off is “God Bless the United States of America.”

It’s like a drinking game for political geeks. Here’s the whole list from Paddy Power:

Cliché Betting: What Will Obama say first?

8/1     We have more work to do
10/1     Health care reform
10/1     As I stand here today
12/1     Fundamental belief
12/1     God bless America
12/1     Crossroads of history
12/1     Defining moment
12/1     Make Washington work
14/1     Common purpose
16/1     Pursuit of happiness
16/1     Building a better America
16/1     Reduce the deficit
18/1     War on terror
18/1     It won’t be easy
18/1     Hungry for change
18/1     My civil liberties
20/1     Honor for me
20/1     I have a dream
20/1     Willing to listen to each other
20/1     Yes, we can
20/1     Don’t get me wrong
25/1     Hard to believe
25/1     I’m fired up
25/1     Withdraw our troops
25/1     There are better days ahead
25/1     Do-nothing Congress
25/1     We’ll have to make hard choices
25/1     We can be one people
25/1     A new direction
33/1     For far too long
33/1     Safe from harm
33/1     Jobs to the jobless
33/1     Reshapes our economy
40/1     Deepest gratitude
40/1     Greatness of our nation
40/1     Possibilities of this nation
40/1     Florida primary
50/1     Believe in what this country can be
50/1     Unity is the great need of the hour
50/1     In the face of despair, you believe there can be hope
50/1     We can work together to keep our country safe
50/1     Abiding faith
66/1     Brighter day will come
66/1     Publish tax returns
66/1     Washington has a long way to go
80/1     Overcome the adversity
80/1     Bloated federal government
100/1     Diversity of my heritage
100/1     Yes, we might
250/1     Life is like a box of chocolates