That’s how many people watched Obama’s speech on TV.
That doesn’t count cable or C-SPAN.
It doesn’t count people who streamed it on line.
It doesn’t count people who watched the YouTube later.
38 million people.
More than the opening ceremony for the Olympics. More than the Oscars. More than the “American Idol” final.
Kerry had 20 million viewers.
Bush won the Presidency with 62 million votes. (And I doubt McCain can match that.)
I’m glad the Rasmussen tracker is now showing a 4-point Obama edge, and the Gallup tracker an 8-point Obama edge. And I’m going to be nervous until the votes are counted. But 38 million is a fantastic number. And the Obama organization has the capacity to turn out the votes.
So to all the people who have been frantically shouting advice at the candidate and his managers: please calm down, make a donation, and work your butt off. Again and again, these folks have earned our confidence that they know what they’re doing. Right now, the Biden pick is looking inspired, compared to any of the wine-track candidates I would have preferred.