Obamas on "60 Minutes": More than 24 million watch

No surprise here: The Obama interview pulled huge numbers for "60 Minutes" last night. The final figures are still being crunched, because CBS had a roughly 30-minute football overrun in East Coast markets.

But it looks like about 24.5 million people tuned in to Steve Kroft's sit-down with Barack and Michelle Obama, which amounts to the highest score for "60 Minutes" since January 1999.

The Obamas came off as remarkably relaxed, given everything that's transpired in the past two weeks. As always, Barack and Michelle exude love and respect for each other and their family in a way that is inspiring, touching and comforting. You want these qualities in a first family.

The seg, which was devoted to the interview other than the Andy Rooney bit at the end, had a healthy adults 18-49 aud (6.4 rating/16 share) and adults 25-54 (8.2/19), although those numbers are also subject to revision once the finals come in tomorrow.

For "60 Minutes," as important as the ratings harvest is the prestige that the Obamas have conferred by granting this coveted first major interview to the venerable granddaddy of TV newsmags. You can't go wrong by going with the Rolls-Royce of TV news, of course, but Kroft has also clearly earned the trust of the Obamas. He's covered Barack Obama extensively during the past few years, and he did an insightful profile of the then looooooong-shot candidate shortly after Obama announced his presidential bid in January 2007.