I saw someone on the intertubes worrying that Palin and McCain got higher television ratings than Obama and Biden for their respective speeches. If someone mentions this to you remind them that many regular venues are not included in ratings. PBS, C-Span and the Democratic National Convention feed are not included.
Considering that republicans tend to need to have their ideas formed for them by talking heads on the news channels and networks and democrats tend toward PBS, I'm fairly certain more of us were watching than were counted. I started the dem con week on PBS until the fantasy images I had of a waterboarded (not torture! just a nice spa treatment like at Gitmo!) David Brooks made me tune into the jackass-free DNC feed.
Auntie Jess wants you to be in the know.
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I watched on C-SPAN as well. Actually, for the Obama speech, a local theater opened up both screens for free and I stood in line, but they did a turn away business, so I watched in a bar.
Anecdotal of course, and in Oakland, CA, which will go Democratic, of course, but I think the "bigger ratings" thing is something the media has to make this look like a contest. The first week of McCain/Palin hasn't moved the numbers much.
I also think that part of it is people like me who aren't big fans of watching speechifying, but enjoy watching train wrecks. Thus, I didn't watch Obama but I watched McFossil.
Ratings schmatings. Perhaps ol' Auntie FranIam knows a thing or two about them thar ratings, but that is another story for another day.
Just supposin that she did know somethin and we're not sayin she does, she would say that numbers like Bible quotes can be used both for and against things.
And it is sample based statistics meaning that the sample, which should be representative is then interpreted as to what people are watching.
Which may or may not be accurate.
I mean I'm not sayin but I'm just sayin, you know.
There is another blogger who is very well versed on this topic, maybe that blogger will weigh in.
Ratings are indicative of nothing. Hell, the grand finales of "I Survived a Japanese Gameshow" and "The Bachelorette" probaby got great ratings, too.
Drive down any freeway and watch the traffic slow to a crawl when an accident is moved to the side of the road. People love to watch potentially lurid shit, hence McCain's big ratings.
Hey came by here to check things out! I really like your stuff! I plan on coming back often!
About this post-you are so right! That "rating" system is flawed. The righties get their points spewed by the "mainstream" pundits,like you said, so there were probably many many prog's that were not counted!
Good point, Jess. I watched on C-SPAN, but switched over to MSNBC for comic relief.
You're right, of course, but I don't give a crap about ratings. Nothing is going to count until November, when we HOPE all the votes are counted and our guy wins. Otherwise, I'll be counting my pennies to buy a one-way ticket to another country and a quickie citizenship change.
Republicans do have a tendency to think in lockstep. The fact that Democrats often don't is both a strength and a weakness.
What randal said.
It's called "rubbernecking."
Meanwhile, Palin is managing well.
Why yes, for someone that's batshit crazy she does seem to be able to cut down on the drooling.
Other than that she should be instituionalized. Not running for VP.
Fran, I'm sure you have no idea what you're talking about, but if you did, you'd be spot-on! ;)
Also consider the land-line vs. cell phone divide between older and younger voters, and you'll see another way the polls are skewed, besides TV ratings.
Then there are us masochists who listened to/watched all of the RNC because we want to know what the HELL those people could be THINKING, vs. the brown-shirt crowd who COULDN'T CARE LESS what we Lib'rls think!
SO many variables...
I think that a lot of people tuned into see McSame for the same reason that I did - to see if he actually said anything of substance. It was all ether, unfortunately.
I think the ratings were high because people just wanted to see what Palin would do and then how McCain did. I watched both the Dems and the GOP, and it sure doesn't mean I was impressed by the GOP. Horrified is more like it. So ratings don't mean applause!
Jess, where are you???
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