Sarah Palin: Ratings Giant!
Last week, a little over 38 million people tuned in Sen. Obama’s speech. Yesterday, I speculated that 30 million people might tune Gov. Palin’s speech in. According to this article, I underestimated Gov. Palin:
Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin’s highly anticipated speech at the Republican National Convention on Wednesday night nearly matched the record-setting numbers of Democratic presidential nominee Barack Obama.
Palin pulled in 37.2 million viewers across broadcast and cable networks, according to Nielsen Media Research. That’s 55% higher than Day 3 of the DNC, when her Democratic counterpart, Joe Biden, and President Clinton took the stage (24 million).
It’s also up a sharp 99% from the Republican convention’s third day in 2004 (18.7 million). In fact, it came close to upsetting Obama’s historic address on Thursday, the most-watched convention speech in history (38.4 million viewers).
I knew that the Democrats’ criticisms would work against them. Their constant criticism caused people to judge Gov. Palin for themselves. I’m betting that they came away liking her. ALOT.
This number also has to worry Democrats. In January, February and March, Democrats were drawing far more voters to their primaries than Republicans were drawing to their’s. The term “enthusiasm gap” became the journalists’ buzzword. Based on those numbers, pundits started talking wildly about a Democratic clean sweep: Democrats retaking the White House, building a bigger majority in the House and reaching a filibuster-proof majority in the Senate.
I was skeptical throughout.
It wasn’t that I thought it’d be a great year for Republicans. It’s just that I’ve never believed in the Belway punitocracy’s conventional wisdom. More often than not, I’ve sided with the opposite of the CW because the CW is usually wrong.
Now that Gov. Palin has joined the ticket, excitement is running high in GOP circles and the enthusiasm gap has essentially disappeared. This isn’t going to be the year that Democrats thought they were getting into. In fact, I’d be surprised if Republicans don’t win back some seats in the House. As I’ve said all along, I think that they’ll still lose seats in the Senate, though not nearly as they’ve been predicting.
In fact, I wouldn’t be surprised if there might not be a couple of surprises come Election night.
Technorati Tags: Sarah Palin, TV Ratings, Barack Obama, Acceptance Speech, Conventional Wisdom, Senate, Election 2008
Cross-posted at LetFreedomRingBlog
September 4th, 2008 at 5:34 pm
Did you know that the first woman EVER elected to Congress was Jeannette Rankin (1917) and she was a REPUBLICAN!! So isn’t it fitting that the first woman ever elected for Vice-President be a REPBULICAN?!!
(There are several other similarities between Palin and Rankin: both from rural America, both had parents that were teachers, both went against the “establishment”) We’re MAKING HISTORY!
September 5th, 2008 at 12:40 pm
Obama:
Occidental College - Two years.
Columbia University - B.A. political science with a specialization in international relations.
Harvard - Juris Doctor (J.D.) Magna Cum Laude
& Biden:
University of Delaware - B.A. in history and B.A. in political science.
Syracuse University College of Law - Juris Doctor (J.D.)
vs.
McCain:
United States Naval Academy - Class rank 894 of 899
& Palin:
Hawaii Pacific University - 1 semester
North Idaho College - 2 semesters - general study
University of Idaho - 2 semesters - journalism
Matanuska-Susitna College - 1 semester
University of Idaho - 3 semesters - B.A. in journalism
But no, conservatives apparently don’t like ‘elitists’.
September 5th, 2008 at 5:27 pm
Elitist shmelitist!
Louise Heath Palin:
44, Governor of the State of Alaska
Barack Hussein Obama II: 48, Junior Senator from the State of Illinois
Palin: 2 sons, 3 daughters
Obama: 2 daughters
Palin: Evangelical Christian
Obama: Trinity United Church of Christ
Previous Public Service
Palin: Mayor of Wasilla, AK 1996-2002
Pres, Alaska Conference of Mayors
City Council 1992 - 1996
Obama: State Senator 1997 - 2004
143 days in attendence
Community Organizer
Executive experience
Palin: 6 years as Mayor
2 years as Gov. of Alaska
Obama: NONE
Foreign Relations
Palin: Governor of State that borders two countries.
Obama: Chairman Senate Sub Committee on Iraq which was never called into session
Visited Iraq once, gave speech to 200,000 Germans.
Military affairs/experience:
Palin: CINC of Alaska National Guard,
charged with manning early warning
radar sites for the US Army and Air
Force, (the only National Guard
with 24/7 active duty assignments).
Obama: NONE
Legislative Record:
Palin: Passed landmark ethics reform bill,
used veto to cut budgetary spending
returned money for the “bridge to
nowhere”
Obama: Voted “present” over 100 times in
Illinois legislature, voted for the
surge in Iraq, after he said he
would not.
Guns
Palin: Member of NRA, and avid hunter.
Obama: Supports legislation that would
prevent all law abiding citizens
from owning firearms.
Earmarks
Palin: Opposed Bridge to Nowhere,
camapigned against Don Young,
R-AK in 2008 primary.
Obama: Secured Federal earmark of
$1,000,000 s for wifes employer,
U of Chicago Hospitals, after she
was promoted.
Abortion
Palin: Pro-life gave birth to second son,
knowing he has downes syndrome.
Obama: Only Il state senator to speak
out against the Born Alive
Protection Act which requires
medical care be given to infants
who SURVIVE an abortion.
Energy:
Palin: Believes energy independence is
a matter of national security,
FOR drilling in ANWAR.
Obama: Encourages tunes ups and checking
tire pressure as energy saving,
Says ” we cant expect the world to
be okay with” our use of heating
and air conditioning
Environmental accomplishments:
Palin: Chair of Alaska Conservation
Commission, 2003-04.
Announced plans to create sub
cabinet group of advisors to
address climate change and reduce
greenhouse gases in Alaska.
Obama: NONE.
What they’ve done to bring about “Change”
Palin: Replaced entire Board of Agriculture
and Conservation because of
conflicts of interest, Resigned
from position of Ethics Commisioner
of the Alaska Oil and Gas
Conservation Commission in order to
expose corruption among members
of her own party.
Obama: Selected a 36 year incumbent as a
running mate.
September 5th, 2008 at 6:34 pm
I’m a conservative supporter from England, and I watched Palin’s performance open-mouthed. How DARE a consrevative woman speak in such forthright terms, hitting the right buttons time and time again. The same buttons that ordinary people feel. As an aside, the message that she delivered on Thursday is equally applicable to the UK, that has been decimated after 11years of socialism under Labour. How I wish we had someone of her calibre and guts over here.
I wish the McCain-Palin team every success in Novemember and just cannot wait for the headlines the morning after, when the Democrats and their lackeys realise they have another 4 years of Republican rule to deal with - and this time is will be REAL Republicanism.
All power to Palin - the American Margaret Thatcher!
September 5th, 2008 at 9:43 pm
I rest my case!
Thank you John!
(London is like my second home town,
spent 6 weeks there as part of a liaison team for a US/Royal Navy joint task group in the Indian Ocean in 1986, and have been back several times, Im also a secular brother of the London Oratory on Brompton Rd. in Knightsbridge.)