Surge Defectors:  It is one of the most fabled and valued axioms of our history.  "You can fool all of the people some of the time..."And you can fool some of the people all of the time..."But you cannot fool all of the people, all of the time."  It is seemingly disproved by the fact that while 99% of Americans would probably agree it was Abraham Lincoln who said that, there's no contemporary evidence that he ever did. Yet the truth of those words, outweigh even the myth who said them.  Our fifth story on the Countdown: a new poll tonight, and in it, nearly two-thirds of the American public, is no longer being fooled, all the time, by President Bush's... surge in Iraq.

Contempt & Privilege:  What exactly is "Inherent Contempt" -- and why is Congress contemplating deploying it against Harriet Myers?  And what kind of contempt -- would make a president invoke "executive privilege" to stop an investigation into the death of football star and Army Ranger hero Pat Tillman?  Jonathan Turley explains.

ODDBALL:  Spanning the odd news spectrum with a tank chase and a puppy with a wittle heart on its tummy. 

Decision 2008:  With polls not yet open and zero percent of the precincts reporting, MSNBC can now report the first results from the 2008 presidential elections.  That's right, MSNBC is now predicting that Republican presidential candidate Jim Gilmore will not, repeat, not be the next president of the United States.  Unless something really fun happens in the Electoral College. Or the Supreme Court. Gilmore -- and the women who support him, who must necessarily be "Gilmore Girls" -- have officially dropped out of the race.  But in our third story tonight, the real oh-Eight story today is the unprecedented dominance of Democratic candidates in the new fundraising figures... and the record-breaking numbers racked up by Barack Obama.

Harry Rules:   100 hours and counting until Harry Potter fans in this country will get their first chance to crack open J.K. Rowling's seventh and final installment in the wizardry series.  And if the wait seems excruciating... so too could be the race to the final pages of the book.   Our number two story on the Countdown... Potter patience... or lack thereof.

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD:  A pilot who forgot to do an important thing when landing a plane...The Prince of Darkness...and Sirius satellite radio in the crosshairs tonight.

The Simpsons Controversy:   It was meant to be a simple choice: vote for which Springfield is the Springfield in "The Simpsons".  But with last week's winner -- which, as we told you, was Springfield, Vermont -- now comes the controversy.   In our number one story on the Countdown, a congressman from Springfield Oregon wants Attorney General Alberto Gonzales to look into possible voter fraud. In other words, Mr. Gonzales has finally been given something he can sink his teeth into.  'Mmmmmmm. Simpsons election irregularities.