Gov. Palin rocks the mic

Governor Sarah Palin's debut as Vice Presidential incumbent on the Republican ticket drew 37 million viewers, dramatically outstripping the 24 million that watched Senator Joe Biden, the VP incumbent on the Democratic side.

Her acceptance speech at the Republican National Convention (RNC) also eclipsed the audience for Senator Hillary Clinton's speech at the Democratic National Convention (DNC), in which Clinton put full support behind Senator Barack Obama's bid for Presidency, Nielsen Media Research finds.

In fact, viewership drew dangerously close to figures for Obama's acceptance speech for the Presidential bid on the Democratic ticket, which attracted 38.4 million viewers.

Coverage of the RNC Wednesday night appeared on NBC, CBS, ABC, Fox, CNN and MSNBC, two stations fewer than those that covered the DNC (TV One and BET are not broadcasting RNC coverage), reports TV Week. Ratings across the ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, MSNBC and Fox were 72 percent higher in the 18-49 demographic. For all viewers over 18, the ratings increased 62 percent.

Advertising Age, which sent a reporter to cover the proceedings, reports one sentiment became clear over the course of the evening. McCain appears to be running, not just against the Democrats, but against what the Republicans perceive to be dramatic media bias in Obama's favor:

[One] of the crowd's most passionate moments was when [Palin] took on the media directly by saying, "But here's a little news flash for all those reporters and commentators: I'm not going to Washington to seek their good opinion — I'm going to Washington to serve the people of this great country."

The delegates' boos and catcalls directed toward the section of the convention floor designated for the national media were loud and long, as the visceral distaste (if not disgust) for the "mainstream" media suggested the campaign would continue to try to make those reporting the news, the news itself.

View part I of Palin's acceptance speech. An option to view parts II and III should appear at the video's conclusion:

The Huffington Post also posted a written transcript of Palin's remarks.