President George W. Bush offers his State of the Union Address (8 p.m., ABC, CBS, FOX, NBC, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC, PBS, C-Span) to a joint session of Congress. As television goes, these addresses are rather special. It’s a night when every network and cable news channel becomes C-Span. Whether that represents a demotion or an improvement depends upon one’s point of view.

But if television does its job, viewers should be able to discern the temperature of the room and the warmth or chill that greets the president and his proposals.

One would assume that a president could address a House and Senate controlled by majorities of his party members with reasonable confidence of cooperation and success.

But not all political battles are partisan in nature. And recently some of the most interesting Capitol Hill fights have reflected a turf war between the executive and legislative branches.

Senators and representatives of both parties have been restive and have been asserting the prerogatives of their branch of government. From the recent torture bill to the debate over warrantless National Security Agency wiretaps, some of the president’s most vocal critics have been members of his own party. And this legislative dissent occurs as the Bush administration, and Vice President Dick Cheney in particular, continue to make a public case for stronger executive powers.

All State of the Union addresses are interesting, but this one should stand out. Will this be business as usual or a scene out of “High Noon”? Stay tuned.

¢Can 35 million “American Idol” (7 p.m., Fox) fans be all wrong? Maybe. I don’t care if 100 million people watch it, the show has been tedious for the past two weeks. In their endless search for the next William Hung, the producers have bored us with a parade of untalented, vain and deranged wannabes.

¢If we learn anything from “CSI,” it’s that Las Vegas is full of danger and trouble. “Las Vegas Law” (9 p.m., Court TV) chronicles the daily workings of Bucky Buchanan, a legal legend in America’s sin city. His clientele runs from unlucky tourists to fallen ladies and the occasional murder suspect. But it’s not all trials and tribulations for this real life “Mr. Lucky.” Bucky has a classy bride and a stable full of Arabian horses.

Other Highlights

¢Three aboriginal girls make a 1,500-mile trek across Australia to escape authorities bent on assimilating them into the mainstream culture in the 2002 drama “Rabbit-Proof Fence” (6:15 p.m., IFC).

¢Lorelai tries to ignore Luke’s dramas on “Gilmore Girls” (7 p.m., WB).

¢Dean rekindles an old flame on “Supernatural” (8 p.m., WB).

¢A possible legal defense for the strike team on “The Shield” (9 p.m., FX).