Saturday Night Live has been a hit these past weeks because of the Palin skits and campaign-related jokes, but when Sarah Palin made an appearance last month, it was the highest rating SNL received this year with about 14 million viewers tuned in.

On Saturday, SNL featured the real John McCain and the show pulled a 9.0 overnight ratings, about 15% lower than the episode of Palin’s appearance. Of course, the SNL skits won’t be complete without Tina Fey acting as Palin. While the ratings wasn’t too good for McCain with only 12 million viewers, SNL can’t complain.

With Ben Affleck hosting the show and David Cook making his first appearance since American Idol to promote his self-titled album to be released on November 18. Cook sang his first single, “Leave a Light On” and received plenty of raves from fans. I wouldn’t be shocked if Cook had something to do with the SNL’s Saturday ratings.