1.  McCain-Palin becoming Palin-McCain.  The Associated Press reported:

"The banners, buttons and signs say McCain-Palin, but the crowds say something else.(S)ince her speech at the Republican National Convention, watched by more than 40 million Americans, she is emerging as the main attraction for many voters at their campaign appearances.

"Voters interviewed at rallies said their support for McCain has been cemented with his pick of Palin, who is a social conservative and reassures many who were wary about McCain on those issues.

"And in the brief time that McCain and Palin have been campaigning since she introduced herself to the nation, many women at their events have said they identify with her personal struggles.  ‘She's every mom,' said Lindsey Denny, a mother of 7."

And the Rasmussen national poll shows she is more popular than either Senator McCain or Senator Obama.

"Perhaps most stunning is the fact that Palin's favorable ratings are now a point higher than either man at the top of the Presidential tickets this year. As of Friday morning, Obama and McCain are each viewed favorably by 57% of voters. Biden is viewed favorably by 48%," the Rasmussen Report said.

2.  Richard Viguerie says Palin is the next Ronald Reagan.  The Chairman of ConservativeHQ.com said, "Governor Sarah Palin has captured the heart and soul of the convention, the Republican Party, and the conservative movement.  Republicans are fired up as they have not been since Ronald Reagan was president."

Viguerie praised Senator John McCain for selecting Palin as the vice presidential candidate and noted that McCain listened to the voices of "cranky conservatives" who were concerned over who the vice presidential candidate would be.

The nomination of an articulate, principled conservative as vice president "has completely turned his campaign around."

3.  McCain convention speech sets new TV ratings record; Republicans beat Democrats in overall convention viewers.  Nielson Media Research said that a record 38.9 million TV viewers watched Senator John McCain speak at the Republican Convention, compared with 38.3 million who watched Barack Obama at the Democratic Convention.

Nielson said the McCain speech obtained the biggest commercial TV audience ever for a U.S. political convention.

The average for the three-day Republican Convention was 34.4 million, while the average for the four-day Democratic convention was 30.2 million.  By contrast, the most watched television show in the nation last year, American Idol, was seen by 28.1 million people, according to the Reuters news service.

4.  Senate Republican leader McConnell:  "Virtually no chance" GOP gets Senate back.  Although Republicans have 49 members in the Senate, the Minority Leader, Senator Mitch McConnell of Kentucky, conceded that Republicans will lose seats in the November election, not gain them.

Instead, McConnell expressed hope that they would have at least 41 seats to prevent "cloture" and thereby maintain filibusters against liberal legislation from the Democratic majority.