Obama to visit Ford plant in Wayne on Wednesday

President Barack Obama on Wednesday will travel to metro Detroit to deliver remarks at the Ford Michigan Assembly Plant in Wayne, the White House announced today.

The visit, part of a three-day tour to preview his upcoming State of the Union speech that includes Phoenix and Tennessee, was announced over the weekend. 

The president's remarks are expected to highlight the auto industry's rebound, following the federal government's bailout in 2008-2009. The three-city tour will highlight policy proposals Obama will announce during his Jan. 20 State of the Union address. 

“With a new Congress returning to D.C., the president will act next week to lay out specific new actions and preview new policy proposals that will be included in his State of the Union address to make sure that all Americans benefit from the economic recovery,” the White House said in a statement released over the weekend.

The decision to hit the road before the annual speech is a change of pace for the Obama administration. As the New York Times reported, "In previous years, the administration waited until the day before the speech to disclose what the president planned to talk about, hoping that the element of surprise increased its news value and reach."

Obama, similar to former presidents Bill Clinton and George W. Bush, would typically take his policy items to the public the day after the State of the Union, the New York Times reported. 

Update Jan. 6, 12:45 p.m.: It's worth mentioning that Obama's remarks about the resurgent auto industry will take place in a Ford plant that is temporarily closed because, as the Detroit News notes, of lagging demand for its small gasoline-powered and hybrid cars. Talk about optics.