At a time of heightened partisanship and tense relations between the White House and Congress , President Obama is set to give the constitutionally-mandated State of the Union address on Tuesday . Obama tells House Dems he wants 'big deal ' on debt . Both Obama , GOP have laid out hard lines for tough talks ahead . By the numbers , here 's a look at the presidential address to Congress : . 223 - Number of State of the Union or `` annual messages '' in U.S. history . President Barack Obama will deliver the 224th . 91 - `` In person '' State of the Union speeches or annual presidential messages . Tuesday 's will be the 92nd . At least 1 - Member of the president 's cabinet who does n't attend , in order to preserve the line of succession . 12 - States in the Union when President George Washington gave the first State of the Union speech in January 1790 . 1 - Times Supreme Court Justice Stephen Breyer has missed the speech since he joined the court in 1994 . To go or not to go : Supreme Court at the State of the Union . 3 - Years where Breyer was the only attendee from the Supreme Court : 2001 , 2003 and 2004 . 12 - Times President Franklin D. Roosevelt delivered a State of the Union address , the most of any president . Ten were in person , and two were in writing . 2 - Presidents who were unable to deliver a State of the Union or annual message speech : William Henry Harrison and James Garfield , who both died in office after 32 days and 199 days . 22 - Number of guests hosted by first lady Michelle Obama in 2012 . 2012 : Buffett 's secretary , young cancer survivor among guests . 1 - Times the State of the Union or annual message has been postponed . President Ronald Reagan was scheduled to make his address on January 28 , 1986 , the day of the space shuttle Challenger explosion . It was postponed to February 4th . 7 - State of the Union or annual message speeches since 1966 where there was no official opposition party response . Most of the cases were when a president had just been inaugurated to his first term . Rubio to deliver GOP 's 2012 response . Rubio : I 'm no savior . 3 - Politicians since 1966 who gave the opposition 's response to a State of the Union speech or annual message who later became president : Gerald Ford , George H. W. Bush and Bill Clinton . 89 minutes - Total running time of President Bill Clinton 's speech in 2000 . It contained 7,452 words . 3 - Countries identified by President George W. Bush in his 2002 State of the Union speech as the `` axis of evil '' : Iran , Iraq and North Korea . 1 - Times Supreme Court Justice Samuel Alito was seen mouthing the words `` not true '' in response to President Obama 's 2010 State of the Union remarks about campaign finance .
22 - Member of the president 's cabinet who does n't attend . the State of the Union Justice Michelle Obama has missed the speech since 1994 . At least 1 - Times FDR delivered a State of the Union address , the most of any president . 22 - Number of guests hosted by first lady Michelle Obama in 2012 .