Via Ace, the Nielsen report:
Barack Obama apparently isn’t the only “rock star” in presidential politics this year.
After days of intense media coverage about Republican vice presidential candidate Sarah Palin’s qualifications, more than 40 million Americans tuned in Wednesday to see for themselves what they thought of her.
[ . . . ]
Last week, Nielsen said 38.4 million people watched Obama speak at a Denver stadium on the six commercial networks, along with BET, TV One, Univision and Telemundo — four networks that didn’t cover Palin’s speech. PBS added an estimated 4 million to that total.
Nearly 2 million more women were watching Palin than men, Nielsen said.
Oh, but there’s more.
The Nielsen ratings showed that Palin attracted a huge female audience of 19.5 million women, nearly 5 million larger than the third day of the Democratic convention when Hillary Clinton spoke.
Not enough for you? How about this, via Hot Air:
Palin Speech Moves Independents: Results of two nationwide polls conducted by SurveyUSA show Sarah Palin’s speech at the Republican National Convention on the evening of 09/03/08 has helped the McCain campaign.
24 hours ago, independent voters nationwide were split on whether Palin was an asset or a liability to McCain’s campaign. Today, by a 2:1 margin, independents say Palin is an asset. Overnight, the percentage calling the Alaska governor an asset to the campaign climbed 13 points; the percentage calling her a liability fell 17 points.
The numbers are similar among moderates, who 24 hours ago viewed Palin as a liability by an 11 point margin; today, Palin is seen as an asset by an 18 point margin.
Betting Line Changes: 24 hours ago, when asked if they would bet on Obama or McCain becoming president, Obama was a 16:15 favorite; today, it’s flipped, and McCain is favored by the same ratio.
Althouse:
It’s like some bizarre nightmare/dream (depending on your party preference). The Dems had Obama, and then… suddenly Sarah.
Megan McArdle
# This woman is an Obama-level political natural. She is a ferociously good speaker, and almost preternaturally composed.
Sarah Palin is what the McCain camp has badly needed: an attack dog who can be deployed against Obama. She slides the stiletto in without either losing her femininity or coming across as catty, and given that she’s married to an eskimo, it’s going to be hard to fit her into the narrative of conservative closet racists trying to perpetuate white domination.
Ain’t it wunnerful?
She’s a natural — and she’s no lightweight. Here’s something that just occurred to me and so far, I haven’t seen it anywhere else. First, let’s look at Cindy McCain and the First Lady at the convention.
Now, Palin on Wednesday night.
See the difference? Cindy McCain and Laura Bush are wearing designer. Sarah is tastefully dressed, but like she’s on her way to chair the PTA meeting.
Similarly, she’s wearing notably less makeup than either Cindy McCain or the First Lady, just enough, and no more.
This is a very savvy woman here. She knows exactly what she’s doing, and don’t look for her to stumble. And best of all, she bites back. Hard. But with a smile on her face.
Look at her closely, folks. The GOP changed Wednesday night, and she’s the face of the new party.