From The NY Times
By David E. Sanger

For six days, President Bush has stayed in nearly complete isolation on his ranch here - just mountain-biking and brush-clearing, the White House insisted daily, with only one houseguest, his mother-in-law, Jenna Welch. He never even ventured into this little town of about 700, not even to the cheeseburger joint that he often used as a political stage to show that he is in touch with his Texas neighbors.

But on New Year’s Day, after a brief stop at an Army hospital in San Antonio to visit wounded soldiers, Mr. Bush is scheduled to return to the White House earlier than usual from his break and start a campaign to set the tone for 2006 and, perhaps, the remainder of his presidency.

As part of an ambitious strategy the White House has mapped out for the next four weeks, Mr. Bush has scheduled two major speeches - one on the economy on Friday in Chicago, another on Iraq - ahead of the State of the Union address, which is tentatively scheduled for Jan. 31.

By the time he appears before Congress, Mr. Bush’s aides are hoping, two of the immediate challenges the president faces, the Supreme Court confirmation hearings of Judge Samuel A. Alito Jr. and the permanent renewal of the Patriot Act, will be behind him.

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