Biden trumps convention Nielsen ratings, Clinton most watched online

America, apparently, cannot get enough of Joe Biden. Of all the speakers at either the Democratic or Republican conventions, the vice president garnered the highest Nielsen ratings, with 14.7 percent of 289.7 million Americans with a television set. That's 42.5 million people tuning in to watch Biden.

President Barack Obama came in second with 13.7 percent, followed by Republican presidential nominee Mitt Romney with 12.5 percent. Former President Bill Clinton was fourth with 10.9 percent, and Republican Sen. Marco Rubio of Florida was fifth with 10.4 percent.

The vice president's boost appears to have come from both women and older Americans. According to Nielsen, Biden led all other speakers in the percentage of female views with 16.6 percent; the president garnered 15.1 percent, and Michelle Obama received 10.7 percent. Meanwhile, among viewers 55 or older, Biden got a rating of 27.1 percent, compared to Romney's 26 percent and Clinton's 23.3 percent.

Clinton, however, easily surpassed everyone else in online views, including auteur turned Republican convention star Clint Eastwood, according to media metrics site Visible Measures. Clinton took away 5 million views, Eastwood trailed him by 300,000, Michelle Obama drew 4.1 million, and the president himself was the last significant number, at 2 million.

Most other speakers, including Biden, registered online numbers in the hundred thousands.

Still, the Nielsen numbers for the vice president's impassioned and sweeping speech are, to paraphrase the man himself, a big deal.