Tonight at 9:00 p.m. ET, Americans across the country will settle down with family, friends and colleagues to watch President Barack Obama give his State of the Union address before a joint session of Congress.  As our country continues its climb out of an economic downturn, and recovers from the recent tragic events in Arizona, Americans are anxious –about our nation’s safety, about job creation, about the education of our children.  The list is long.  Ears will be wide open, honing in on every presidential word.   And, as has been the case since the late 1960s, following the State of the Union Americans will be closely listening to how the opposing party responds.  This evening, that response will come from U.S. Rep. Paul Ryan, R-Wisc., who also happens to be the new Budget Committee chairman.

There are likely many serious issues and topics to be addressed this evening – and we’ll have time to properly digest it all as we watch and listen to political pundits pull apart every word of both the State of the Union and the GOP response over the next few days.  The White House website also will feature a series of live online chats with President Obama and senior Administration officials beginning immediately after the State of the Union and continuing through Thursday. So, if you don’t get your fill tonight, there will be plenty more opportunities to do so.  After all, the coming days will be full of analysis and interpretation.

And if you find that you just need a little bit of a breather from the politics, you may want to get a little State of the Union trivia fix.  You’ll find 15 fun facts about the State of the Union on The White House website to test your knowledge and impress those around you at your next social gathering.