Media Savvy

John McCain appeared on The Tonight Show with Jay Leno last night and was impressive. The show's audience was clearly behind him and he received numerous ovations. The Tonight Show was watched by millions of people (usually about 4.5 million homes) - many of whom may have been undecided before his appearance.

In contrast - the DNC's Convention's first night of coverage is watched mostly by political junkies who have already made up their minds (although I'm sure there were some undecideds in the estimated 7.5 million who watched). Tonight some undecided Hillary Clinton supporters may tune in to see what Hillary has to say and how she is treated by Obama's people. Some of those registered Democrats may decide that Hillary wasn't given her due and become McCain supporters.

Many people have noted that Obama's campaign did not receive a big bump in the polls after the first night of the convention. I haven't seen anyone credit the lack of bump to McCain's savvy media scheduling and being on The Tonight Show at the same time the first night of the DNC was at it's peak.