Crafting a speech that sounds less like a series of talking points and more like a vision of the future falls on the shoulders of speechwriters. So what is the perfect mix for Tuesday night’s State of the Union address? Where should there be great detail and on what issues does the author shift the focus to the big picture?

To find out, “Eight Forty-Eight” spoke with Dan Conley, a former speechwriter for Mayor Richard M. Daley and former Virginia Gov. L. Douglas Wilder. When host Alison Cuddy spoke with Conley, he began by saying that President Obama’s speech Tuesday evening is the most important State of the Union address in a long time.