WENN

From The Grio

As President Barack Obama and Republican candidate Mitt Romney go head to head tonight in the first presidential debate, their wives have been competing for an entirely different title.

Family Circle magazine recently announced first lady Michelle Obama as the winner of their Presidential Cookie Bake-Off.

Read more at The Grio

More on Madame Noire!

• Starlets, Unsung: 7 Stories Of Lesser Known Black Women
• There’s Just Something About R. Kelly: Can We Hate The Sin, And Not The Sinner?
• Fear And Other Things: 14 Unhealthy Reasons To Stay In A Relationship
• Forget Bandz! 7 Things That Will REALLY Make Her Dance”
• We Love You Essence, But We’re Going To Need You To Get Some New Cover Subjects
• Catty! Nicki Minaj Cusses Mariah Carey Out On American Idol Set
• Caught Up In College: A Cuffing Season Tale

Images: Reuters, AFP

The First Lady’s DNC speech caused quite a stir, to put it mildly. Her performance was praised by the media, constituents and viewers. Her wardrobe was the talk of the town. But there was other news about Michelle Obama’s speech — she made oratory history.

According to an analysis by a University of Minnesota political scientist, her speech read at a twelfth grade level. “[B]y that measure,” writes The Raw Story, it was “the most complex speech delivered by a presidential candidate’s spouse at a nominating convention.”

On the other hand, the speech delivered by Mitt Romney’s wife Ann was only on a fifth grade reading level — making it  “the lowest reading level for a spouse’s convention speech since the practice [of measuring the speeches] first began in 1992.”  (The President, by the way, generally delivers his union speeches on an eighth grade level, according to The Raw Story.) The speeches were measured using the Flesch-Kincaid readability test.

There was also another competition between the two women — TV ratings. Obama and Romney both opened their respective conventions. But Michelle Obama pulled in higher ratings for the opening night of the Democratic National Convention than Ann Romney did for the opening of the Republican National Convention, reports CBS News. Nielsen Co. data  revealed that about “26.2 million people watched the opening night of the Democratic National Convention where the first lady was the featured speaker. Compare this to the  22.3 million who watched the first night of the Republican National Convention featuring  potential first lady Ann Romney.”

Obama, says CBS News, even had Twitter jumping. “[S]he was responsible for at least 28,003 tweets per minute shortly after she delivered her speech.” Romney’s Twitter peak was just 6,195 per minute.

Image: Reuters

-The Republican National Convention finally got underway yesterday and… wow. Speeches were delivered by Rick Santorum, who expounded on the importance of hands. As a result, #hands was trending on Twitter. Ann Romney talked about the heart and confirmed, “I love women!” Really? And N.J. Gov. Chris Christie gave the keynote, in which many noted that it took the Governor a loooong time to actually mention Mitt Romney, the guy running for President that the party had gathered to celebrate. Remember him?

Actually, both Gov. Christie and Ann Romney were well-received in the convention hall and this morning, coverage of their speeches notes that they effectively roused the conventioneers. NBC also notes that the speakers did a good job of making Mitt Romney “relatable.” We watched the broadcast on MSNBC and many of the correspondents there — Chris Matthews, Rev. Al Sharpton and Rachel Maddow among them — noted that there was a lot of talk by the speakers about their own accomplishments, but a lack of discussion about Mitt Romney. (Other speakers included Wisconsin Gov. Scott Walker and Ohio Gov. John Kasich.)

-Two convention attendees were removed from the event after disgusting harassment of a CNN camerawomen. According to a tweet from Take Action News reporter David Schuster, an attendee threw nuts at the camerawoman and said, “This is how we feed animals.” A convention statement reads: “Two attendees tonight exhibited deplorable behavior. Their conduct was inexcusable and unacceptable. This kind of behavior will not be tolerated.”

-Raynard Jackson, a registered Republican and CEO of Raynard Jackson & Associates, is attending the GOP Convention and asks “Where are the African Americans?” His column on The Washington Post is here. Herman Cain is at the convention too and told ABC News (via ColorLines), “I happen to believe that the party has more traction with black voters than meets the eye.”

-As Hurricane Isaac struck New Orleans, the city experienced flooding, but the levees and other defense measures are standing up to the storm. Mississippi also experienced flooding. The slow-moving storm promises to rain up to 20 inches of precipitation on the area before it moves out. About 482,000 people are without power in Louisiana and rescues have taken place in New Orleans.

-New York Attorney General Eric Schneiderman is looking into claims made by the energy-drink industry, issuing subpoenas for information about their advertising and marketing practices. The subpoenas were sent to the makers of 5-Hour Energy and PepsiCo, the makers of AMP, and Monster Beverage. The investigation will look into whether the companies are over-stating the healthy effects of some of their ingredients. Retail sales of these beverages reached $8.9 billion last year.

More on Madame Noire Business!

• Microloans Providing an Alternative Resource for Small Businesses
• Karen Duckett Built Her Architecture Firm, Duckett Design Group, One Brick At A Time
• Why Does Hampton University Dread Locs? Business School Bans Cornrows and Dread Locs for Male Students
• Brandy, Pick It Up: Old Content Strategies Don’t Cut It Anymore
• How to Start a Business In… Newark, N.J.
• Here are the Five Highest Paying Jobs You Don’t Need a Bachelor’s Degree to Do

Photo: Stockbyte

-A dozen people were killed in a shooting at a Colorado movie theater during a showing of the new Batman film, The Dark Knight Rises early this morning. Another 38 people were injured, including a three-month-old baby. The gunman, 24-year-old James Holmes, reportedly wore a gas mask into the Aurora theater and threw gas canisters before opening fire. He was arrested in the parking lot of the theater with four guns. President Obama has released a statement expressing “shock and sadness” over the news. A Paris premiere screening of the film has been cancelled as a result. This is an ongoing story.

-On a much different note, Viacom and DirecTV have reached a programming fee agreement, ending a 10-day blackout that deprived the satellite company’s 20 million customers of stations like BET, MTV and Nickelodeon. DirecTV will not be required to carry Epix. Separately, Dish customers haven’t had access to AMC for about a month, meaning they’re missing Breaking Bad. Dang.

-SmartMoney.com gives its picks for the best credit card for travelers.

-Mitt Romney’s wife Ann has stirred up some controversy over an interview with GMA in which she defended her hubby’s refusal to make several years worth of tax returns available by saying, “Because there are so many things that will be open again for more attack… and that’s really, that’s just the answer. And we’ve given all you people need to know and understand about our financial situation and about how we live our life.” You people?!

-Presidential campaign fundraising has exceeded $1 billion. That includes spending by the candidates, the parties, and their Super PACs. Spending could reach $3 billion. President Obama is frantically trying to raise money, warning his supporters that he could be outspent by his opponent.