NIELSEN SHOWS GOP BEAT OBAMA, EXCLUSIVE SHOT OF DETAINEES

Despite the best efforts of extreme left wing radicals, including the militant, anti-American nutjobs known as “Code Pink,” John McCain’s acceptance speech last night at the Republican National Convention in St. Paul, Minn. raised the bar for political rating success.

The Nielsen Company reports that McCain’s speech drew 38.9 million viewers, beating-out Democrat Barack Obama’s spectacle at Invesco Field in Denver last Thursday by more than a half-million people.

For their efforts, all the Code Pink protesters drew was a trip to time out. That’s them in the exclusive photo above being detained after interrupting the convention during McCain’s speech.

I guess they don’t look so brazen, after all. Nice job, ladies, you accomplished absolutely nothing. But hey, at least you weren’t tasered.

Hats off, by the way, to Attorney General Henry McMaster, who served as sergeant at arms and teamed up with with the Secret Service and other law enforcement agencies to oversee security at the convention. He and his team did an excellent job of not only rounding up goons like the Code Pink protesters, but also preventing any security breaches.

Full picture:

TROPICAL STORM INVADES PALMETTO STATE

As you can see in the photo above, taken on Pawleys Island this morning, the outer bands of Tropical Storm Hanna have officially arrived on South Carolina’s coast.

As of the 11 a.m. update from the National Hurricane Center, Hanna is expected to make landfall overnight along the northern South Carolina coast (near Myrtle Beach) with maximum sustained winds between 70 and 80 mph, leaving the possibility that the storm could strengthen into a hurricane shortly before hitting land.

Tropical storm warnings have been issued for all of South Carolina’s coastal counties and tornadoes are possible. Residents are advised to seek shelter as Hanna approaches and take the proper precautions. Storm force winds and heavy rain could extend up to 315 miles from the storm’s center.

While Hanna hasn’t even made landfall, the U.S. is preparing to be popped by yet another storm. Hurricane Ike is currently 425 miles north of the Leeward Islands and appears to be following an eerily similar track as Hanna, only it has strengthened into a Category 3 storm.

Current tracks show Ike hitting Miami before heading into Gulf Coast, but forecasters say it could make a turn toward the Southeast similar to Hanna.

(Photo: Associated Press)

GOP CONCLUDES CONVENTION WITH LESS THAN 60 DAYS TO ELECTION

For both Democrats and Republicans at the national level, the opening ceremonies are over and the main event is about to begin, as John McCain formally accepted the GOP presidential nomination last night in St. Paul, Minn. And with less than 60 days before Election Day, that race will be a sprint.

McCain’s acceptance speech set the tone for Republicans. It wasn’t about style, it was about substance. It wasn’t about idioms, it was about ideas. And it wasn’t about talking about grandiose change, it was about fighting for real change.

“We’re going to recover the people’s trust by standing up again for the values Americans admire,” McCain said, summing up best why he needs to be the next President of the United States. “The party of Lincoln, Roosevelt and Reagan is going to get back to basics.”

He presented solid plans for energy independence, cutting taxes, reducing wasteful spending, creating open markets, creating jobs, and providing equal access to public education. “We believe in a strong defense, work, faith, service, a culture of life, personal responsibility, the rule of law, and judges who dispense justice impartially and don’t legislate from the bench,” McCain said.

And he was right, right, right.

South Carolina’s Sen. Lindsey Graham preceded McCain and used his travels abroad with the Arizona senator to hammer home McCain’s national security credentials. (continues…)

VP NOMINEE NEARLY TIES OBAMA’S RATINGS, EVENS POLLS

In nominating Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin as his running mate, GOP presidential nominee John McCain’s campaign got everything they could have hoped for… and then some.

Nielsen Media Research is reporting that 37.2 million people watched Palin’s breakout speech at the Republican National Convention last night on six networks (ABC, CBS, NBC, CNN, FOX News Channel, and MSNBC) — a mere 1.1 million less than watched Democrat Barack Obama’s speech last Thursday night.

Palin’s vice presidential opponent Joe Biden pulled in 13 million less viewers.

But better yet for McCain, Obama’s five point lead coming into the week has entirely evaporated. A hot-off-the-presses CBS News poll has McCain and Obama tied at 42 percent.

That is an incredible bump coming out of a weekend in which a hurricane dominated the news cycle, and less than a week after Democrats pulled out every spectacle in the book in Denver.

With numbers like these, I guess it’s no wonder Obama and company are launching an all-out personal smear campaign against Palin. Unfortunately for them, it doesn’t look like it’s working.

(Photo: Reuters)

TNR HAS INTERESTING INSIGHT INTO MCCAIN, GRAHAM FRIENDSHIP

A story to be published in next week’s The National Review offers an insight into the close friendship between Republican presidential nominee and Sen. Lindsey Graham. For instance, this story about a pig:

“John is so excited about the big pig,” Graham explains, slumping in his airport chair and rolling his eyes. “He wanted me to see the pig.” The pig in question is Freight Train, the Iowa State Fair’s 1,259-pound prize-winning hog, whose immense hillocks of back fat constitute a boyish fixation for the Republican nominee. Graham couldn’t make it to Iowa this year, but McCain was loath to stop playing with him: “‘Just come out!’” Graham croaks, squaring his shoulders and turning his voice into a rasp to imitate McCain’s. “He is mesmerized by that pig.”

Before Freight Train captured McCain’s enthusiasm, it was bird-watching. “They ought to take all the detainees at Gitmo, round them up, and make them listen to John talk about birds for a week,” Graham complains of their epic sessions with bird guidebooks at McCain’s ranch in Sedona, Arizona. “John gets so obsessed with things, and if you’re his buddy, you pay.”

Not every U.S. senator who advises the GOP’s presidential nominee on Iraq policy gets to see the side of McCain that likes to run after animals. But the 53-year-old Graham has a special place in McCain’s campaign: top surrogate, but also inseparable foil. Graham has not only gone on–in the past month alone–CNN, “Face the Nation,” “Hannity & Colmes,” “Today,” and “Fox News Sunday” to press the McCain campaign’s tactical interests, but he also talks with McCain on the phone about three times a day, oftentimes just to say hi. En route to Savannah (a rare trip away from McCain’s side), Graham managed to squeeze in a short call between wheels-down and deplaning. Walking down the jetway after the flight, he waved to me, smiled, and held up his cell phone: “That was John, right there!”

It’s unusual for a presidential candidate to have an honest-to-goodness sidekick, but then again, McCain is sort of a Pied Piper for protégés. While most politicians collect allies, McCain collects followers: There’s ex-aide John Weaver, who still helps McCain long after being officially dumped; speechwriter Mark Salter, who reveres McCain as a father figure; and fellow POW Orson Swindle, who adoringly follows McCain around on the campaign trail. These intensely devoted mentees seem to look to McCain less to bring momentum to their careers than to bring meaning to their lives. But Graham is different from all the other worshippers–and more important.

The piece goes on to list numerous other tidbits and commentaries and is certainly worth a read.

As I’ve said before, Graham’s close friendship with the man who may be the next President of the United States could reap great dividends for South Carolina. It’s rumored that he could be slated for a cabinet-level post, but either way, he’ll certainly be one of the McCain Administration’s top advisors.

GRAHAM, RIDGE, MCCAINS COMPRISE FINAL NIGHT FESTIVITIES

The brand new stage is set and the schedule has just been released for the final night of the Republican National convention. And the prime time festivities kick off with a very familiar face.

At 8 p.m., Sen. Lindsey Graham will address delegates and millions of Americans at the Xcel Energy Center in St. Paul, Minn. in perhaps the largest, most significant speech of his life. I will post excerpts from his remarks when they become available.

Following Graham will be a video on vice presidential nominee Sarah Palin, after which former Gov. Tom Ridge will speak. A video titled “America’s Place in the World” will follow Ridge’s remarks.

Immediately after that video, possible future first lady Cindy McCain will take the stage.

And then, shortly after 9 p.m., presidential nominee John McCain will mark the pinnacle of the convention when he delivers his formal acceptance speech, which will be capped off by a floor demonstration and balloon drop.

A reminder, you can watch all of this on the Ustream live feed located at the top of the right sidebar, or by clicking here. Of course, if you have a television, you can turn to pretty much any network or cable news station.

____________

UPDATE: Former Washington Redskins coach Joe Gibbs will be endorsing McCain just prior to Graham’s speech, I’m guessing around 7:45 p.m. Ironically, that will be only a few minutes after the ‘Skins kick-off the 2008 NFL season on NBC.

(Photo: Getty Images)

DEM VP NOMINEE WOULD PURSUE CRIMINAL CHARGES

In the first of what will likely be many “Joe Biden moments,” the Democratic vice presidential nominee said Wednesday that he and running mate Barack Obama could pursue criminal charges against President Bush, and possibly others in the administration, if they are elected in November.

The story appeared on ABC News before being picked up by The Guardian, but received absolutely no coverage because of Gov. Sarah Palin’s speech at the Republican National Convention. Hot Air posted the above video clip.

From The Guardian’s story:

[H]is statements represent the Democrats’ strongest vow so far this year to investigate alleged misdeeds committed during the Bush years.

“If there has been a basis upon which you can pursue someone for a criminal violation, they will be pursued,” Biden said during a campaign event in Deerfield Beach, Florida, according to ABC.

To say that you would go after a U.S. president for absurd, unfounded claims is not only asinine and juvenile, but it shows a complete lack of respect. And it makes Biden sound like a bitter, arrogant elitist… something I’m sure we’ll see more and more of in the next two months.

In the end, this was probably a gaffe and I expect that if this gains any attention, Biden will step — nay, run — back immediately. Regardless, this is one vindictive something, something.

GUV: GOP WILL WIN SC IN NOV; TPS: NO FREAKING WAY!

Prior to leaving the Republican National Convention early to prepare for Tropical Storm Hanna, Gov. Mark Sanford took a moment to speak with Reuters about GOP presidential nominee John McCain’s chances of winning South Carolina’s eight electoral votes. And mercifully, he didn’t stumble.

South Carolina Gov. Mark Sanford feels pretty good about John McCain’s chances in his state.

“If we gotta worry about South Carolina, go ahead and fold up the tent — the whole match is over,” he tells Inside the Tent contributor John Steward. “No worries in South Carolina, and if they come, we got real problems.”

I think we should start calling Sanford “Miss Cleo,” because this guy can really tell fortunes. When McCain wins South Carolina, everyone will be like, “don’t forget how Sanford called it two months ago when he was only up in the polls by a few dozen points.

This isn’t the first time in this presidential election that Sanford made a stunning move. Remember in March when he put everything on the line to endorse McCain after everyone else already had? Maybe we should be referring to Sanford as the Maverick.