The Republicans had higher ratings, in part, because they held their convention during a week when a lot of viewers had returned from their summer vacation. The Democratic held theirs in a week when many viewers were still on vacation. Also, the Democratic Convention immediately followed the Summer Olympics and many viewers who watched a thrilling Olympics may have wished to avoid a week of political talking heads. A concern is that millions listened to Obama to hear what the new kid on the block had to say and then listened to the familiar, tried-and-true seasoned candidate make his rebuttal. Successful presidential candidates tend to be household names familiar to the voting public. Say the name Hillary and everyone knows who you mean. John McCain is also a household name while Barack Obama is not. Familiarity, or at least the devil you know, could be a key factor this year.