President Bush last night pleaded in his final State of the Union address for a Democrat-controlled Congress to help his hobbled administration over the finishing line.

Bereft of the bold vision that marked many of his previous appearances on Capitol Hill, the strongest words of last night’s speech were reserved for projects such as Alaska’s infamous Bridge to Nowhere that have undermined “the people’s trust in their government”. He vowed to veto all such multibillion-dollar “ear-marks”, often inserted into legislation to benefit a particular district, unless Congress cut them by half this year.

But the core of his speech was devoted to what Mr Bush called “unfinished business”, not least in Iraq where he claimed his troop surge had “achieved results few of us could have imagined just one year ago”.

Mr Bush, who is asking a sceptical Congress to approve more military funding in the war, said: “The advance of liberty is opposed by terrorists and extremists — evil men who despise freedom, despise America and aim to subject millions to their violent rule.

“Our enemies in Iraq have been hit hard. They are not yet defeated and we can still expect tough fighting ahead. We must do the difficult work today so that years from now people will look back and say that this generation rose to the moment.”

He also delivered an uncompromising message to Iran, even though his own intelligence services have decided that Tehran has already halted development of nuclear weapons. He reiterated that Iran must “verifiably” suspend uranium enrichment activities, “come clean” about its nuclear intentions and cease support for terrorism.

After seven years in which the economy has run relatively smoothly, financial and housing markets are wobbling precariously. Mr Bush acknowledged that America was “undergoing a period of uncertainty”.

He asked Congress to pass swiftly a $150 billion (£75 billion) package to revive the economy and make permanent his tax cuts. “At kitchen tables across our country, there is concern about our economic future,” he declared.

Mr Bush urged legislators to approve pending trade agreements with Panama, Colombia and South Korea, warning that failure would “embolden the purveyors of false populism” in South America and elsewhere.

There were further entreaties for help in his belated efforts for tackling climate change and the Middle East peace process, as well as doubling money for HIV/Aids in Africa — an agenda for which he believes his Administration has not received the credit it deserves.

Mr Bush’s speech is likely to be overshadowed today by the Republican primary in Florida. Most of the candidates have largely ignored his deeply unpopular administration in recent debates. Senator John McCain last night even chose to remain in Florida rather than attend the State of the Union address.

Others have adopted hardline stances against illegal immigrants, much to the alarm of Mr Bush who fears that this will alienate the increasingly important Hispanic vote. Last night he urged them to support a “bipartisan solution”.

Mr Bush could not resist a reference to the drama to succeed him. “In this election year,” he said, “let us show our fellow Americans that we recognise our responsibilities and are determined to meet them. And let us show them that Republicans and Democrats can compete for votes and co-operate for results at the same time.”

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