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President Obama’s first State of the Union draws more than 48 million viewers

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More than 48 million people tuned in for President Obama’s first State of the Union speech Wednesday night, 4 million less than watched his first joint address to Congress in February 2009 shortly after taking office.

Obama’s 70-minute speech, which aired on 11 networks, drew a bigger audience than all but two of President George W. Bush’s State of the Union addresses, according to Nielsen. (More than 51 million tuned in for Bush’s first official State of the Union in 2002, shortly after the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, and 62 million watched in 2003.) President Clinton’s first official State of the Union in 1994 drew 45.8 million viewers.

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-- Matea Gold

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