This is a good sign, and this is off of Drudge from the San Francisco Gate!!!  Turns out you can't hide real data:

If ratings were votes, George W. Bush would be sitting pretty today, because the Republican National Convention finished with a larger television audience this week than its Democratic counterpart did in July. In addition, President Bush's acceptance of the nomination drew more viewers than challenger John Kerry's speech.

On ABC, CBS and NBC, plus three cable news channels, Nielsen Media Research figures estimate that the Republican convention averaged a 15.3 rating, while Bush's Thursday night speech during the 7 o'clock hour peaked with an 18.2 rating. The Democrats averaged a 14.3 rating over three nights, and Kerry's speech drew a 16.9 rating.

Each ratings point equals 1.08 million households tuning in to the program. Last year, top-rated network programs such as "American Idol" and "CSI" averaged about a 16 rating.

When public broadcasting numbers are figured in, the race becomes a little closer, but the Republicans still come out ahead. PBS stations, which featured more broadcast hours of coverage than their commercial counterparts, averaged a 2.7 rating during the Democratic convention and a 2.0 for the Republicans.

Bush's ratings victory reverses the trend of recent elections. The Democrats easily attracted more viewers than the Republicans in 1996 and 2000.

The Republicans were boosted by California Gov. Arnold Schwarzenegger, who scored a 15.3 national rating Monday night. Vice President Dick Cheney's speech was less popular, with a 12.9 rating Wednesday night.

In the Bay Area, where there are far more Democrats than Republicans, Kerry's speech was more popular than Bush's. On ABC, NBC, CBS, CNN, Fox News Channel and public broadcaster KQED, Bush attracted interest from approximately 550,000 households. Nearly 750,000 Bay Area households tuned in to Kerry's speech.

Fox News Channel had the highest Bay Area numbers at 7 p.m. Thursday with a time-period-leading 5.2 rating. Nationally, Fox News Channel averaged a 2.7 rating over three hours of convention coverage.

E-mail Peter Hartlaub at [email protected].


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Quoted: If ratings were votes, George W. Bush would be sitting pretty today, because the Republican National Convention finished with a larger television audience this week than its Democratic counterpart did in July. In addition, President Bush's acceptance of the nomination drew more viewers than challenger John Kerry's speech.

Guess more people wanted to hear about the future and war on terror than the war in vietnam!

It also seems to me that Republicans are more likely to watch conventions.

Democrats don't listen to talk radio, and judging by MSNBC's numbers, don't watch political TV.