Reaction to President Obama’s State of the Union address Tuesday was largely positive among those who watched the speech, according to instant polling conducted by CNN/ORC.

The network’s poll found that 77 percent of viewers had a somewhat or very positive view of the address, and 22 percent had a negative response. At the end of the speech, 71 percent said Obama’s policies would move the country in the right direction, up from 65 percent earlier in the evening.

More specifically, 70 percent said Obama’s policies on guns would move the country in the right direction, up from 61 percent pre-speech.

Obama was speaking to a relatively friendly audience, according to CNN. Forty-four percent of the network’s sample was Democratic, and just 17 percent was Republican, making it 12 points more Democratic than the American population.

The instant poll’s results are comparable to CNN’s previous surveys following Obama’s past State of the Union speeches — 53 percent of respondents gave the president “very positive” reviews this year, falling between the 48 percent he garnered in 2010 and the 68 percent in 2009.

The annual addresses have had little effect on Obama’s approval ratings in prior years.

CNN surveyed 393 people who had participated in a poll earlier this week, said they watched the State of the Union address, and had agreed to be re-interviewed for the instant reaction poll. The poll had a 5 percent margin of error.

Newsone.com