TV Execs Salivating Over Palin

Matt Cooper reports from St. Paul: The television networks had worried that the Republican convention might not be a ratings winner. Not any more. TV producers I've spoken with here at the G.O.P. convention expect huge ratings for vice presidential pick Sarah Palin's speech to the R.N.C. tomorrow night.

It should be especially good news for News Corporation's Fox News Channel, the choice of conservative-leaning viewers. But it should also be good news for CNN, a division of Time Warner, and General Electric's MSNBC, a division of NBC-Universal. But we'll have to see. Nielsen did not do convention ratings last night because the proceedings were over for the evening and the cable networks were all about Hurricane Gustav.

Meanwhile, the Republican convention is back on. Tonight, Joe Lieberman and Fred Thompson dominate prime time with speeches about John McCain, the man. Lieberman (a Democrat-turned-Independent who eight years ago was the Democrats' vice presidential nominee) will make the case why Democrats and Republicans should cross party lines to support McCain. Tomorrow night will be dominated by Palin.

And President Bush? He'll speak to the convention tonight via satellite from The White House. He'll speak for just 10 minutes from the East Wing of the White House before the premier 10 p.m. eastern hour when the broadcast networks tune in to the convention. An unpopular Bush was always going to pushed off stage. Now he's getting the most diminished role for a sitting president since 1968 when Lyndon Johnson didn't attend the riotous Democratic Convention in Chicago (Johnson was advised not to attend for his own safety).

It's not that bad for Bush, who is still popular with delegates here. As Borat would say of the rest of the country, "Not so much."

Matt Cooper

Get more from the Republican convention in St. Paul with these:
-- The G.O.P.s Gov Child.
-- The Republicans Get a Mulligan With Gustav.
-- McCain's Pick of Palin a Game Changer.
-- Drill, Baby, Drill!
-- Where to Eat in the Twin Cities.
-- How to Party Like a Rockstar TV Star With Republicans.

Get a recap of what happened with the Democrats in Denver:
-- Obama Gets Down to Business.
-- Are Obama's Donors Tapped Out?
-- Google's Schmidt: "They Have Guns and We Don't"
-- Why Does Everyone Want In on the Act?
-- I'm T. Boone Pickens and This Will Save America.
-- The Election According to Mr. Burns.
-- The Portfolio.com Capital Index.