More bad news for Flipper, with the release of the latest Nielsen ratings: GOP tops Democrats in convention viewers. (Hat tip: Engineer.)

If ratings were votes, George W. Bush would be sitting pretty today, because the Republican National Convention finished with a larger television audience this week than its Democratic counterpart did in July. In addition, President Bush’s acceptance of the nomination drew more viewers than challenger John Kerry’s speech.

On ABC, CBS and NBC, plus three cable news channels, Nielsen Media Research figures estimate that the Republican convention averaged a 15.3 rating, while Bush’s Thursday night speech during the 7 o’clock hour peaked with an 18.2 rating. The Democrats averaged a 14.3 rating over three nights, and Kerry’s speech drew a 16.9 rating.

Each ratings point equals 1.08 million households tuning in to the program. Last year, top-rated network programs such as “American Idol” and “CSI” averaged about a 16 rating.

When public broadcasting numbers are figured in, the race becomes a little closer, but the Republicans still come out ahead. PBS stations, which featured more broadcast hours of coverage than their commercial counterparts, averaged a 2.7 rating during the Democratic convention and a 2.0 for the Republicans.