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From Bush, a
timely talk to the nation

Viewership should be up for his State of the Union

By Diego Vasquez
Jan 28, 2008

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It would be easy for the final State of the Union address for a lame duck president to get lost amid the coverage of the primaries and upcoming election, especially in this contentious year.

But with economists forecasting that the country is headed for or may already be in a recession, and the president pushing a package through Congress that could offer sizeable tax rebates to cash-strapped families, this year’s State of the Union could see a decent turnout.

It airs tonight on the Big Four networks, as well as the two biggest Spanish-language broadcasters and three cable news networks, starting at 9 p.m. President Bush is expected to tout his billion-dollar relief bill, as well as call on Congress to reauthorize his controversial warrantless wiretapping program and make it permanent.

He’ll also touch on Iraq and counter-terrorism efforts, but the economy may be the most important issue. A new ABC News poll finds that just 30 percent of Americans think the economy is in good shape, as Bush’s approval level hovers just above that mark.

Last year Nielsen estimated 45.5 million total viewers tuned into the speech on nine networks, up slightly from just over 43 million the previous year. Bush’s biggest audience was in 2003, right before the Iraq War began, when 62.1 million tuned in.

By comparison, President Clinton drew a mere 31.5 million for his final State of the Union in 2000, 12 million fewer than the previous year.

A look at this week’s top TV draws
MONDAY, JANUARY 28
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 p.m.	ESPN	“Women’s College Basketball” (S)	Two of the nation’s top-ranked teams, Tennessee and Duke, face off.
8 p.m.	NBC	“American Gladiators” (G)	A wrestling coach and a chiropractor are among this week’s contestants.
8 p.m.	E!	“Fashion Police” (N)	Critiques of the celebrity styles at this year’s SAG Awards.
9 p.m.	ABC, CBS, NBC, Fox, Telemundo, Univision, CNN, Fox News, MSNBC	“State of the Union Address” (N)	President Bush’s final State of the Union speech.
9 p.m.	History Channel	“Cities of the Underworld” (N)	Season premiere. Investigating the underground of Jerusalem in an attempt to learn more about its history.
9 p.m.	USA	“WWE Monday Night Raw” (S)	A recap of last weekend’s Royal Rumble.
10 p.m.	MTV	“Making the Band” (R)	Season premiere. Danity Kane and solo artist Donnie move into a house and begin work on their albums.
TUESDAY, JANUARY 29
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	NBC	“Today” (N)	Author John Grisham guests.
8 p.m.	Fox	“American Idol” (R)	Still more auditions, these from Omaha, Neb.
8 p.m.	NBC	“The Biggest Loser” (R)	The teams are tempted by access to soda.
9 p.m.	Fox	“House” (D)	House thinks a paralyzed woman isn’t giving up all the facts.
9 p.m.	Bravo	“Real Housewives Confess: A Watch What Happens Special” (R)	Reunion show and recap of season three of “The Real Housewives of Orange County.”
10 p.m.	FX	“Nip/Tuck” (D)	Christian does all he can to deal with Gina’s death.
10 p.m.	TLC	“LA Ink” (R)	Pixie gets one tattoo removed to make room for another.
WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 30
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	ABC	“Good Morning America” (N)	Tips on how to make healthy Super Bowl snacks.
8 p.m.	Fox	“American Idol” (R)	The auditions continue, this time in Miami.
8 p.m.	CW	“Crowned: The Mother of All Pageants” (R)	Season finale. Jack Wagner hosts the final pageant among the four remaining duos.
8 p.m.	CNN	“Republican Super Tuesday Debate” (N)	The GOP candidates talk it out before next week’s big primary day.
9 p.m.	Fox	“Moment of Truth” (G)	The season’s top-rated new show, but how will ratings hold up in week two?
10 p.m.	NBC	“Law & Order” (D)	The team looks into a triple homicide among three roommates.
10 p.m.	We	“Party Mamas” (R)	A mom goes over the top in throwing a beach-themed party for her more low-key daughter.
THURSDAY, JANUARY 31
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	CBS	“The Early Show” (N)	Actor and comedian Jeffrey Tambor guests.
8 p.m.	ABC	“Lost: Past, Present and Future” (D)	Need to catch up? This will recap the first three seasons.
8 p.m.	Fox	“Are You Smarter than a 5th Grader?” (G)	Game show has rated decently while up against mainly reruns.
9 p.m.	NBC	“Celebrity Apprentice” (R)	The teams try to push a company’s shoe-donation campaign.
9 p.m.	ABC	“Lost” (D)	Season premiere. Finally, after all the recaps, the new season begins.
10 p.m.	VH1	“Celebrity Rehab with Dr. Drew” (R)	It’s starting to get deep as group therapy brings up the celebs’ sometimes dark pasts.
10 p.m.	ABC	“Eli Stone” (D)	Series premiere. A hallucinating lawyer thinks he may be a prophet.
FRIDAY, FEBRUARY 1
Time	Network	Program	Description
7 a.m.	ABC	“Good Morning America” (N)	First Lady Laura Bush guests.
8 p.m.	Discovery Health	“Diagnosis X” (R)	A doctor deals with a man with OCD, who thinks he has West Nile Virus.
8 p.m.	Nickelodeon	“Roxy Hunter and the Mystery of the Moody Ghost” (M, K)	A 9-year-old girl and her friend try to find out what’s haunting her new house.
9 p.m.	USA	“Monk” (D)	Monk takes up painting, and some of his work is a hit with the locals.
10 p.m.	NBC	“Las Vegas” (D)	Piper does all she can to win a magazine’s Concierge of the Year award.
10:30 p.m.	IFC	“Dinner for Five” (R)	Actor Jon Favreau eats and talks with Vince Vaughn, Peter Billingsley, Justin Long and Keir O’Donnell.
SATURDAY, FEBRUARY 2
Time	Network	Program	Description
1 p.m.	CBS	“College Basketball” (S)	Nice SEC game between Kentucky and Georgia.
3:30 p.m.	ABC	“College Basketball” (S)	Either Miami-Duke or Kansas-Colorado.
4 p.m.	NBC	“Figure Skating” (S)	An exhibition gala from last weekend’s U.S. Championships.
8 p.m.	Fox	“Cops” (R)	A compilation special with some of the craziest chases caught on tape.
9 p.m.	ESPN	“College Basketball” (S)	Usual Pac-10 powers Arizona and UCLA meet in Los Angeles.
10 p.m.	Spike TV	“Pros vs. Joes” (R, G)	Wannabes see if they can tackle NFL running back Ricky Williams.
SUNDAY, FEBRUARY 3
Time	Network	Program	Description
2 p.m.	Fox	“Super Bowl Sunday Pregame Show” (S)	The Fox crew dissects the big game over the course of four hours.
2:30 p.m.	ABC	“NBA Basketball” (S)	Dirk and the Mavs take on the Pistons in Detroit.
3 p.m.	CBS	“PGA Golf” (S)	Final round of the FBR Open, won last year by Aaron Baddeley.
6 p.m.	Fox	“Super Bowl” (S)	The New England Patriots try to become the first team to finish a season 19-0 as they face the New York Giants in the Super Bowl.
7 p.m.	ESPN	“Figure Skating” (S)	This week it’s the European Figure Skating Championships, from Croatia.
10:15 p.m.	Fox	“House” (D)	Considering ratings for the show are already up season to date, “House” could hit a series-high rating.
10:30 p.m.	HBO	“The Wire” (D)	Herc tries to make up for past mistakes by helping Carver.
A = awards show or special, C = comedy, D = drama, DD = daytime drama, G = game show, K = kids, M = movie, N = news/documentary, R = reality, S = sports, T = talk/variety show.