Tonight at 8PM ET tune it for Keith's Special Comment about the President who would rather protect the telephone companies from the law than the American people from the terrorists.

Here's an excerpt:

In a Presidency of hypocrisy, an Administration of exploitation, a labyrinth of leadership, in which every vital fact is a puzzle inside a riddle wrapped in an enigma hidden under a claim of executive privilege supervised by an idiot, this one is surprisingly easy.

President Bush has put, protecting the Telecom giants from the laws…ahead of protecting you from the terrorists.

He has demanded an extension of the FISA law, the Foreign Intelligence Surveillance Act, but only an extension that includes retroactive immunity for the Telecoms who helped him spy on us.

Congress has given him, and he has today signed, a fifteen day extension, which simply kicks the time bomb down the field, and has changed nothing of his insipid rhetoric, in which he portrays the Democrats as 'soft on terror' and getting in the way of his Superhuman efforts to protect the nation... when, in fact, and with bitter irony, if anybody is 'soft on terror' here it is Mr. Bush.

Keith fans, you're in for a doozie tonight.  Not only willl we have our traditional, super-awesome Countdown show at 8et, but we will also do a special post-debate coverage Countdown at 10pm (after Senator Clinton and Obama duke it out on CNN).  Then at 11et, we'll do an updated version of the 10 o'clock show and at midnight it's back to the original Countdown re-broadcast.  It's almost wall to wall Countdown (with a little Dan Abrams goodness sprinkled in) so cancel your plans, put the kids to bed early and make a fatty sandwich...this is going to be good.

Rudy, Edwards Bid Farewell:  How both candidates arrived at the end of the their respective campaigns could not have been more different: The Republican, Rudy Giuliani, completing a free-fall that saw him tumble from hero to zero...The Democrat, John Edwards, ending a race in which he consistently ran third -- once, even second -- in every contest... setting the agenda for the field... yet failing to break through. But, in our fifth story on the Countdown, the finish line the same: they're both out -- but what Senator Edwards does next could have a big impact on the long, slow march to the Democratic Presidential nomination.

Super Structure: With somewhere between 10 to 20 percent of Democrats now officially without a candidate for Super Tuesday... And a third of them utterly undecided on a new one... Our fourth story on the Countdown, how will the momentum now swing on Super Tuesday?

ODDBALL: Marijuana vending machines and a chicken that lays green eggs.

Tortured Debate: I miss Attorney General Alberto Gonzalez. At least each time he defied the Constitution and the Congress, he always said the same thing. In our third story tonight: Michael Mukasey has today given his **fourth** distinct answer about water-boarding.

Tabby Time!  Tonight's brief look at celebrity and entertainment includes the fine arts while still retaining the glorious patina of pop culture..

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD: the City of Davie, Florida, Dick Morris, and Rush Limbaugh vie for tonight's top honors.

Tested, Not Ready, Never:  It was Baseball Hall of Famer George Brett who popularized it. The so-called "Mendoza Line" -- the guy with the lowest batting average who **still** got his name on the list published in the Sunday newspapers -- named for Mario Mendoza, a shortstop who, in his one season as a full-fledged regular, batted exactly .198. It's still the unofficial cut-off point -- the exact spot in which you have more than nothing but not enough to be more than mediocre. Our number one story on the Countdown: the Mendoza Line of presidential politics would have to be... winning exactly one delegate. First achieved by John Connally in his bid for the Republican nomination in 1980 -- at a cost of eleven million dollars. Tonight replicated by Rudy Giuliani, who has indeed dropped out of the race... but his one supporter cost him about 50 million.

From Kenya to Camelot:  And 47 years and eight days since John Fitzgerald Kennedy guaranteed himself -- if he had not guaranteed that place previously -- a place among America's greatest political speakers. "And so my fellow Americans," he said, at his inauguration 47 Januarys ago, "ask not what your country can do for you -- ask what you can do for your country; My fellow citizens of the world -- ask not what America will do for you, but what together we can do, for the freedom of man." It can be argued that since President Kennedy's assassination, this nation has sought a successor -- some saw the late leader's younger own brother as that man; for a time after his death in 1968, the last of the Kennedy brothers, Ted, was considered. Today, in our fifth story on the Countdown: accurately or not, successfully or not, marked the second stage of a campaign to present Senator Barock Obama of Illinois as that successor.

Florida, Florida, Florida:  Hints tonight from Rudy Giuliani that he could pack it in -- as early as Wednesday, after the Florida Republican Primary. Part of our fourth story on the Countdown... The first part: the other Florida Primary. Huh? After losing South Carolina Saturday night, Senator Hillary Clinton declared that she was looking ahead to the 24 different primaries and caucuses happening over the next nine days. But she only singled out two by name. American Samoa - which has a grand total of three delegates. And Florida - which has none. Or... 210. Senator Clinton's push to put the seventeen and a half dozen disenfranchised delegates from Florida -- plus 156 more from Michigan -- back in play. Even though the Democratic party has repeatedly stated that won't happen unless there is already a nominee.

ODDBALL: Push ups at the beauty contest, and the muddiest race ever.

The Real State of the Union:  According to Republicans, when the current law defining federal wiretapping authority expires on Friday, it will unleash "the terrorists." But today, Senate Republicans voted against pushing that day back to March. In the foreign surveillance, or "FISA" battle, Democrats wanted to extend the FISA authority another 30 days... seeking time to block immunity for the telecom companies who helped Mr. Bush with his warrantless wiretaps.

Worsts:  Only time for worsties, so.....

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD:  Mary Katharine Ham, Karl Rove, and Glenn Beck vie for tonight's top honors.

The Final Address:   Our number one story on the Countdown... the final State of the Union address... by President Bush. In a fitting bit of symbolism, we begin by telling you what will happen afterwards. Chris Matthews and I will bring you the Democrats' response by Governor Sibelius of Kansas. And our interview guests are scheduled to include, Senators Barack Obama, Hillary Clinton, John Edwards, John McCain, and Jim Webb -- and many others.

Several huge storylines we're following today.  The Kennedy clan backs Barack Obama in a rally in Washington...the race in Florida tightens for the Republicans...and all of a sudden Florida is an issue with the Democrats.  Senator Clinton, apparently ignoring the agreement to ignore Florida, is preparing to declare victory there tomorrrow night.  Could another controversial election in Florida be deciding who will be the next president?

And oh yeah, President Bush delivers his final State of the Union Address tonight.  We'll have the latest on all of this, including our own State of the Union that may differ slightly from Mr. Bush's.  Big show...hope you can join us.

The Race Tightens Up: One day until the South Carolina Democratic Primary. And the two-candidate showdown...May have indeed morphed back... into a three-horse race. Supporters of John Edwards have been disappointed before -- Nevada collapsed from what the campaign considered a three-way dead heat into Edwards getting four percent. But in our number-saturated fifth story on the Countdown: In late polling in South Carolina: Senator Edwards... up 40% in the last four days, to a close third... Senator Barack Obama down 10%... With Senator Clinton holding steady somewhere in between.

Super Delagete-gate: Senator Clinton has confirmed that she will try to get delegates pledged to her as a result of the de-certified Michigan and Florida Democratic primaries. And you know why that's happening now? Because, earlier, none of the candidates really thought it would come down to delegates, not primary victories. But, now, in our fourth story on the Countdown: the math has been done -- Super-Duper Tsunami Tuesday... will not and cannot decide the nomination of either party.
 
ODDBALL: The ice man cometh and some bulls have a good time on parade.

The War Party: It was supposedly presented this way to Ted Koppel... Imagine making Nightline so vital, so necessary, so permanent -- that it continues for years, decades... continues as your newscast -- even after you've stopped doing it. Merely swap out "newscast" for "war" -- and you have Mr. Bush and Iraq and the candidates at a Republican debate last night -- a debate that at times seemed to have been patched together with sound bites from March of 2003, full of guarantees about Weapons of Mass Destruction, the joyous endlessness of troop escalation, and the general bloodlust of the GOP. Our third story tonight: while it is not unheard of for Presidential candidates to lie about what they will do... last night's defenses of the Iraq war included remarkably large quantities of lies -- about what has already happened.

Fire in the Desert:  A fire at a Las Vegas casino is out… with **no** reports of major injuries... Leeding our number two story on the Countdown, Keeping Tabs.

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD: A PA police chief, Bill-O and a different FOX Noise reporter vie for tonight's top honor.

Britney Stimulus:  Forget tax cuts, housing incentives and fiscal responsiblity... All you need to fix the economy is....Britney Spears...Our number one story on the Countdown - Portfolio Magazine doing the math and figuring out that she alone creates millions of dollars of revenue.

The Washington Post had a must-read article yesterday on the specifics of how Obama & Clinton are trying to win on Super Tuesday. Their strategies may differ slightly, but it all comes down to just one thing. Delegates. Both sides still crunching the numbers even though analysis by the Associated Press has determined that "the race for delegates is so close in both parties that it is mathematically impossible for any candidate to lock up the nomination on Feb. 5". Looks like we are in this for the long haul.

Radio Daze: Nobody in either campaign actually said this...But if you listened carefully, you could almost hear it. "The settlement of the radio problem, which has now been achieved, is, in my view, only the prelude to a larger settlement in which all campaigners may find peace. This morning I had another talk with the other campaign chairman, and here is the paper which bears his name upon it as well as mine.  Some of you, perhaps, have already heard what it contains but I would just like to read it to you... I believe it is peace for our time." Our fifth story on the Countdown: the great truce of South Carolina: the Obama campaign dropping a new radio commercial blasting Clinton, right after the Clinton dropped a new radio commercial blasting Obama.

Is McCain the One to Beat?:  John Edwards claims that John McCain is the Republican to beat in a national election, starting to ring true. Even if, in our fourth story on Countdown, Edwards himself isn't actually in a position to be the one to beat him.

ODDBALL: Loch Ness Monster appears in Japan, minty socks debut in Japan, and some cows get funky on parade.

The FISA Veto:  The delayed showdown over immunity for telecommunications companies accused of helping President Bush wiretap Americans flared up again today... leading to the prospect of classic, all-night filibusters in the Senate. In our third story tonight, the real issue... Mr. Bush's intention to stop the telecom lawsuits from revealing exactly what his administration was doing in the dark before his warrant-less, and therefore extra-constitutional, wiretaps, were revealed.

Tabby Time: As his parents fly to New York, and funeral arrangements are finalized, there are new details tonight about exactly what happened when Heath Ledger was found dead in his apartment Tuesday afternoon. That begins our 80 seconds of celebrity news.

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD: Neil Cavuto, Billo and Bill Donahue vie for tonight's top honor.

The Great Debate:  We are just minutes away from the Republican Presidential Candidates debate at Florida Atlantic University in Boca Raton... moderated by our own Brian Willams, joined by Tim Russert. It is the last face-off before Florida's primary five days from now...  And if one of the Republican contenders set up Florida as a do or die state, on purpose, and to his apparent detriment...All of them may now find their candidacies grasping for a victory there. Our number one story on the Countdown: the Sunshine State showdown. 

A House Divided:  Before the Iowa Caucuses those who might have seen impending political cannibalism... saw it wearing **Republican** colors. Our fifth story on the Countdown: maybe not. One Democratic presidential candidate hinting she and her supporters will back whoever is nominated. But a second hinting... just the opposite. The third... Senator John Edwards... joins us tonight.

GOP Money: Mike Huckabee has people working for free..Rudy Giuliani has people working for free.. And John McCain actually left the campaign trail in search of money. Our fourth story on the Countdown, the men who are promising to help fix America's economy, apparently having problems just managing their own finances.

ODDBALL: A sasquatch on Mars and back to the gulag in a soviet prison camp theme park

935 Lies:  If you have ever said, "this administration lied to us a thousand times about Iraq, the war and al Qaeda," turns out, you owe Mr. Bush an apology. In our third story tonight, a new study confirms the administration only lied about those vital matters 935 times. Of course, this does not count so-called "indirect falsehoods" -- like "Iraq has dangerous weapons." The non-profit Center for Public Integrity tallied all the false statements made by eight top members of the administration in the two years after September 11th, including, obviously, the runup to the Iraq war. From the lowest number of lies, to the highest, then, here are the Center's findings.

Tabby Time:  Two names you're unlikely to ever hear paired up in the same sentence again after our nightly minute-45 of celebrity news my producers are forcing me to cover -- Keeping Tabs. Steve Carrell and... Britney Spears. Both spotted at the  LA County Courthouse today. The former -- for jury duty -- he got picked and will be back tomorrow. The latter -- for yet another custody and visitation hearing.

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD: A Best Buy Store, a Fox Noise Host and Newt Gingrich vie for tonight's top honors.

Heath Ledger, 1979-2008: It's not often that the death of celebrity warrants any more than a brief statement of sympathy from the White House but today was an exception. Our number one story, the death of actor Heath Ledger leading to the rescheduling of a Presidential event.

More Clinton vs. Obama vs. Clinton:  If the first Clinton campaign for president, in 1992, was defined by its "War Room"... The current one might wind up being remembered by another candidate's "Truth Squad". Our fifth story on the Countdown: "The South Carolina Truth Squad," to be precise, established today by the Barack Obama campaign. It was the infamous news commentator Boake Carter who observed that in war truth is the first casaulty... If you didn't realize it already -- in politics, truth is not only not a casaulty... it multiplies.

:  The contentious debate between candidates Clinton and Obama was heated enough.. the prospect of another big primary in just four days is pouring more fuel on the fire.  Our fourth story, both candidates throwing more punches at each other today, one by long distance.

ODDBALL: The world coconut smashing champ and the world's best imitation of the world's worst.

The GOP Horserace:  One year after the Democratic Congress took power, they and President Bush have finally agreed on something. The forecast from Wall Street: we are screwed. In our third story tonight, Mr. Bush continues to deny it, but the recession debate has become not if, but when. If not... already. So what do those who want to succeed him, plan to do about it -- already?

Tabby TIme:  In a previous more cynical, and less celebrity-awestruck, time...One might have thought that the leed story in our 90 seconds of celebrity news was an attempt to promote gambling on the Super Bowl. Right now everybody's just drooling that it's Tom Brady and Giselle Bundchen...

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD: Chuck Knoblauch, the Republican Party Committee of Clark County, Washington, and the big headed one vie for tonight's top honors.
 
Heath Ledger, 1979-2008: Against so many who crave -- and constantly exploit -- the limelight, the exceptions stand out... Add to that a sudden, untimely death, and you begin to understand the shock surrounding word that actor Heath Ledger -- age 28 -- was found dead this afternoon... in a Manhattan residence, believed to be his home. Our number one story on the Countdown.

"Chill" Bill:  "He needs to chill a little bit." The House Majority Whip, one of the heavyweights both of African-American politicians, and of South Carolina politics -- Congressman James Clyburn -- maintained both his neutrality in the Democratic presidential nominating race, and his perspective on what has elsewhere been described as a fight, a brawl, and a rift, between former President Bill Clinton, and would-be President, Senator Barock Obama.  Our fifth story on the Countdown: With the next primary, in Clyburn's state, just five days away, Mr. Clinton needs to chill, as the Congressman put it, a little bit. Mr. Clyburn also said Mr. Obama needs to be circumspect in invoking Ronald Reagan, whose "agenda for this country caused angst for African-Americans in this country... Just be careful you don't cross the line."

Rudy Can Fail:  The good news for Rudy Giuliani: he has been endorsed for President... by a guy who batted .270 for the New York Yankees last year. The bad news: he is trailing in double digits in the polls in a place you would have assumed he'd at least be **close.**

ODDBALL: An update on our favorite fat seal...a nice happy ending, too.
 
Bush: The Movie: Long before there was "Bush the decider," "Bush the uniter" there was "Bush the frat boy." Our third story on the countdown, how the heck did that happen.. and are you willing to pay to see a movie about it.. and would it be a tragedy or a comedy?  Variety reporting that film maker Oliver Stone, whose works include "Nixon" and "JFK," is now working on Bush..

The Fearless Forecaster!:  Startled, are you, that the Super Bowl next month will pit the unbeaten New England Patriots versus the unspeakable New York Giants? Our number two story on the Countdown: maybe you shouldn't have been. 

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD: Coulter, Bolton and Dick Morris vie for tonight's honors.

Worst. Day. Ever.:  There's hope. Before you go complaining that we devoted our number one story to the most depressing day of the year... we want to stress the public service contained herein... The antidote. More on that, presently. As for why today tops the heap of potentially sad days... it derives from a formula... courtesy of a British psychologist.

We're here folks...big day in politics and Keith be live all night (from 6p to 10p et) with Chris Matthews and all the rest of the best team in politics.  So far we know Mitt Romney has taken the Nevada Caucus (apparently the Mormons came up big for Mitt, and Ron Paul is running second).  We have the SC GOP primary and Nevada Dem Caucus yet to call so stay with us!

****Update***** One of the more interesting stories unfolding today is the Bill Clinton claim of voter suppression by the Culinary Workers Union. TPM Election Central has the story, and the audio of the Clinton claim.

Nevada! Nevada! Nevada!: The wait until the Nevada Caucuses and the Republican South Carolina primary can now be measured in hours...And the wait until Rudolph Giuliani uses actual footage of the 9/11 attacks to promote his bid for the White House... is over. In our fifth story on the Countdown... the word of the day on the campaign trail today: mistakes. Those who were overcoming them... those who were trying to... and those who seem determined to bury their candidacies -- and their own common decency -- for good. We begin tonight with the Democrats.

Beyond Feb 5:  By February 6th - two thirds of the democratic party delegates will be allocated...Republican voters in 27 states will have cast their ballots..And yet, in our fourth story on the Countdown, even by that point...Neither party may have decided who it wants to be President.

ODDBALL: A stage dive/lip sync that wasn't meant to be, and an 11 foot mustache.

Striping the Drives:  In our third story tonight, the White House in heated debate with itself... over whether millions of emails, more than a year's worth, including a virtual arsenal of potential smoking guns in some of its worst scandals... are missing... or not. After months of acknowledging problems with its email preservation, the White House is now de-acknowledging any missing emails at all.

Tabby Time:  Two for the price of one in tonight's brief look at celebrity and entertainment...Dr. Phil and Britney Spears.. beginning with a non-apology apology from the good doctor.

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD:  Ted Sampley, Lou Dobbs and Billo vie for tonight's top honors.

Time For Change: Friday, the end of a busy week in politics.. so a little political humor seems right. In the best tradition of mining laughs from tragedy, number one in our countdown taps the vast motherlode of misery that is George W. Bush and company. By way of full disclosure, what you're about to see was not written or produced by the countdown staff.  In memory of the hundreds of thousands of jobs lost to outsourcing since Mr. Bush took office, we've outsourced a few minutes to the good folks at the National Lampoon Humor Network and Blip tv, who fear that under George W. Bush, it may not be long before the national yearning for change becomes, "Hey Buddy, got some spare change?"

Viva Las Caucus:  For Senator Pat Leahy the correct Barack Obama Presidential analogy is from 1968 -- when he supported Bobby Kennedy over Lyndon Johnson. But it was the President to whom Obama himself compared himself -- that has the heads of Democrats -- and not a few Republicans -- swimming. Our fifth story on the Countdown: two days until the Nevada Caucuses -- a huge court ruling about them -- and a tale of two Presidents, past. We begin with the endorsement...

Willard Goes to Staples:  It's rare enough to hear a presidential candidate interrupted and criticized to their face.. Rarer still to have it come from a member of the main stream media.. Rarest of all -- to see the candidate resume the battle...while cameras roll. But in our fourth story on the Countdown, that's exactly what happened to Willard Mitt Romney today...

ODDBALL: The Roman Ball protest, a shark has an immaculate conception, and the straw bear attacks England.

Syria, Iran and US:  Sometimes, a nation's descent into moral depravity is marked by sudden events... a coup, for instance. Other times, the signposts are smaller, subtler increments... such as the third story on our Countdown tonight. CTV in Canada has obtained a list the Canadian government has given to its diplomats, instructing them how to deal with Canadian prisoners in countries that use torture... countries, the list says, that include Syria, Iran... and the United States of America.

Tabby Time:  Our nightly look at celebrity and entertainment begins with Britney Spears stumbling on a new concept -- a hybrid cop show: Half Dragnet, half Reno 9-1-1.

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD:  Michele Bachmann, Mike Huckabee, and Glenn Beck vie for tonight's top honors.

Eyeballs on Idol: Despite the requisite incursion of misfits, freaks and maniacs -- including a would-be stalker -- "American Idol" premiered this week to ratings, markedly decreased from the year before. The first time that has happened in the show's history. And it reflects the kind of "Idol" -- or even tv -- fatigue... that could prompt producers to take more drastic measures... Like encouraging Paula Abdul to actually mount a trapeze. But in our number one story on the Countdown, the show -- not dead yet -- still got plenty of eyeballs...

How the West Is won:  As the looming recession may even get the attention, as his Middle East Photo-Op tour ends, of President Hoover -- sorry, President Bush... The Democrats vying to succeed him sprang from the dialed-back, solicitous, team-player debate in Las Vegas, to a campaign trail where they stopped hitting each other over the head with mallets marked race and gender -- and started hitting each other over the head with mallets marked "You Sound Like Bush." Our fifth story on the Countdown: there goes the Treaty of Las Vegas.

You Say Dubai, I say Hello:  Following Willard Mitt Romney's Michigan victory last night, the Republican battle to be the front-runner in the battle to be the nominee for the battle to be president moves downward today, geographically... and ethically. In our fourth story tonight, South Carolina, the state that buried Senator John McCain's 2000 campaign... under dirt. Three days before this year's South Carolina primary... the dirt is fresh.

ODDBALL: Elephant Seal Stand-off: Day 10, and the dumbest crook of the year.

Bill-o's Assault on the Truth: On the website of the Federal Department of Veterans Affairs... In black and white... It states the sad truth about many of the men and women who served this country in uniform. "Current population estimates suggest that about 195,000 veterans (male and female) are homeless on any given night and perhaps twice as many experience homelessness at some point during the course of a year." A grotesque statistic that Senator John Edwards has repeatedly cited during his bid for the presidency. Most recently, last night

The Simpsons:  A tale of two Simpsons make tonight's brief look at celebrity and entertainment, Keeping Tabs...Homer isn't one of them. Unfortunately.

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD: Fox and Friends, editorial writers at Investor's Business Daily, and Fred Kagan vie for tonight's top honors.

Who's Your Baby Daddy?:  In our number one story on the Countdown...The pregnant Jamie Lynne Spears is dissed by her teenage boyfriend... Her sister -- Britney Spears -- has her motherhood defended by the sixty-five year old Prince Von Anheuser-Busch... And Matthew McConaughey... articulates the joy of impregnation -- of his girlfriend -- in a spiel that would make any trailer-park surfer-dude...proud. 

Showdown in Nevada:  Less than an hour from a unique convergence on the 2008 political calendar: At the same time as polls close in Michigan... in our fifth story on the Countdown: the Democrats will begin debating in Las Vegas. The Democratic National Committee having stripped Michigan of all of its delegates because it moved its primary in front of Super Tuesday... the leading candidates are instead focused on this Saturday's Caucuses in Nevada.

Huckabee on God and the Constitution:  Even from an ordained minister... Even from a conservative Republican candidate for President.. It was a shockingly explicit proposal. To change the United States Constitution not according to man's law - but according to God's. Our fourth story on the Countdown, on the eve of the Michigan Primary, Governor Mike Huckabee declares his intentions.

ODDBALL: A girl takes a dive behind President Clinton, and President Bush dances with swords.

The Economy, Stupid:  The same conventional wisdom that gave Iowa to Senator Hillary Clinton, and New Hampshire to Senator Barack Obama... told us Iraq would dominate this election. It could yet become such. But for now: Conventional wisdom, meet Michigan... Where the economy is doing so poorly... that some residents refer to their state as... Mich-issippi. In our third story tonight, with apologies to 1992... It's the stupid economy.

Exit Poll-a-palooza!: Norah O'Donnell shares what we know coming out of the GOP primary in Michigan in advance of the polls closing. 

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD: Giuliani, McCain and Romney vie for the honor of tonight's worst person inthe world.

Oh, Here We Go: Countdown to the Michigan polls closing and the debate...and the start of the debate in Nevada with Chuck Todd.

A House Derided:  In the Monty Python movie masterpiece "Life of Brian"... Two rival groups seeking to expel the Romans from 1st Century Jerusalem run into each other in the palace of Pontius Pilate. The "Campaign For Free Galilee" and "The People's Front Of Judea" immediately begin to fight -- not against Roman guards -- but against each other. The title character, Brian, shouts: "We mustn't fight each other! Surely we should be united against the common enemy!" At that point all the members of The "Campaign For Free Galilee" and "The People's Front Of Judea" go dead silent, pause for one beat, and then answer, in unison: "The Judean People's Front?" Brian has to remind them, he meant the Romans. Our fifth story on the Countdown: any similarity at the moment between the campaigns of the leading Democrats seeking to expel the Republicans from Washington, and The "Campaign For Free Galilee," "The People's Front of Judea," and "The Judean People's Front" is purely... total.

You Say Dubai, I say Hello:  It was 20 Martin Luther King Days Ago -- not counting tomorrow's -- that football oddsmaker Jimmy "The Greek" Snyder explained that African-Americans were better athletes because the 19th Century American slave owner quote "would breed his big black, to his big woman, so that he could have a big black kid." Our fourth story on the Countdown: a quick MLK day reminder to the warring Democrats, who will debate tomorrow, on Martin Luther King Day -- Jimmy The Greek, didn't actually lose everything he had until the day after  January 16th. Before we preview... a Nevada Judge has today ordered MSNBC to let Dennis Kucinich participate. NBC News will be appealing that decision. As for the front-runners..

ODDBALL: A guy sleeps with the crabs, and a drive thru convenience store that didn't start out that way.

Bushed!:  If you happened to notice that none of the presidential candidates... in either party... is using "stay the course" as a campaign slogan, two new snapshots of the national mood give strong indications why that is. In our third story tonight, after seven years of President Bush, the nation is...Bushhhhhed!

Tabby Time! Fighting for custody.. but sticking-it to the judge, again. The self-defeating antics of Britney Spears top our 54-second look at celebrity and entertainment news...

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD:  Jonah Goldberg, the United States Government, and Christopher Columbus vie for tonight's top honors.

The Fatwa Continues:  We are awaiting at this hour, the announcement from Bill O'Reilly that he has conclusive proof that NBC has a contractual arrangement with the Devil. In our number one story on the Countdown -- you may laugh -- but by taking some vague and rather sad charges by a former NBC News reporter, adding a little stalking, and then filling the gaps with about a 98% mixture of personal anger and insanity, Billo has shamelessly actually tried to associate this company with Osama Bin Laden. There are a few facts Billy left out that kind of make him look like a psychotic.  Again. We'll get to that. But first, there's also a repeat of what he mistakes for journalism.

As Countdown reported tonight, Rep. Dennis Kucinich just filed the first RECOUNT motion of 2008 in New Hampshire.

Could it be a harbinger of things to come? 

Clive Thompson, in an excellent piece for the New York Times Magazine, warns that as Florida was to 2000, as Ohio was to 2004, so Pennsylvania might be to 2008.

Gulp.

Race & '08:  From the Campaign for Change...To... Change the Campaign. Our fifth story on the Countdown: going into New Hampshire, it was all about change -- or as Americans used to call it -- "reform" -- going into Nevada and South Carolina:, It's the economy, stupid.  That issue, named by voters in New Hampshire as the most important facing the country... And with the fight for the Democratic nomination heading West... the always evolving Senator Clinton pouncing on the theme that won her husband the White house. Speaking of former President Clinton... the man some have called the first black president of the United States, was doing all he could to keep Mrs. Clinton's campaign from heading South in the wake of comments that both have made on race.

Re-Count?:  It looks like there's an excellent chance of a recount in the New Hampshire Democratic primary...The issue is -- as it was in 2004 -- as it was in 2000 -- as for all we know, it will be in November -- electronic voting machines. The explanation for New Hampshire may be much more prosaic...But what about November?

ODDBALL: Sand candidates, and the greatest streaker tackle of all time.

Running on Empty?:  Eight years ago, Republicans ran with straight faces as the party of national defense and fiscal prudence. Eight years later, we have al Qaeda in Iraq, al Qaeda in Pakistan, but we won't have the World Trade Center, or thousands of Americans lost there and in Iraq... ever again. We do -- however -- have a national debt exceeding nine trillion dollars, almost double what it was the day before President Bush's inauguration. In our third story tonight, the GOP's disputed front-runner, Rudolph Giuliani, unveiled his master plan for the economy Wednesday... one week, we learned today, after his master plan for his own campaign's economy created a situation where he could no longer pay a dozen of his top staffers.

Tabby Time:  Well, if you've been waiting for this for, say, 13 1/2  years, sit back and enjoy it... O.J. Simpson leads off Keeping Tabs tonight because he is behind bars.

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD: The Florida Highway Patrol, Billo and Fred Thompson vie for tonight's top honors.

Idol Returns!: Simmering under the surface of the singing game show that is "American Idol"... is this fact: That one of its judges is -- herself -- a, um, singer. Or at least, she once managed to make money with recordings that actually featured her voice. But in our number one story on the Countdown, with "Idol" Season 7 set to begin next week... Paula Abdul is reportedly going to sing...again.... in public... for the first time in years and years and years. But wait. "Idol" producers probably want nothing to do with that... So Ms. Abdul may be welcomed to the show that doesn't know how to say no... to a train-wreck. Half-time at the Super Bowl!

Here's the Rudy Giuliani ad that Countdown produced in response to Rudy using Keith and Dana Milbank in his "Super Bowl" ad. Enjoy. (big thanks to talkingpointsmemo.com for doing all the 9/11 research, and C&L has the entire segment).

[YouTube:d1uQ7LYIoWs]

Michigan, Nevada, South Carolina, Florida and Maine all precede it. But there's little doubt that this year's Super Duper Tuesday is make or break.

For the Democrats, it's a chance to pick up delegates in 22 different States.

For Republicans, 21 states are up for grabs.  (Well, technically 20 and 2/3, considering that West Virginia is only holding a caucus to settle 2/3 of its GOP delegates. The remaining third have to wait until a Primary on May 13th.)

Given the unprecedented number of states voting on Feburary 5th, we asked NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd (who heads up the must read "First Read" blog) what the major candidates both expect and need to win on Super Tuesday. He shared a little of his analysis with us on Countdown Thursday night, but we couldn't get to everything. So, with the huge caveats that this could all change within any given day, hour or minute, and that it's OUR analysis alone, here's the rest.

Democrats first.

IF Hillary Clinton wins Nevada and Barack Obama wins South Carolina (we know, we know, it's a big if), this is how it might shake out on Super Tuesday.

The Clinton campaign would need to win their "base" states. Mainly states that are either in the northeast or that only let Democrats vote.

Barack Obama would likewise to secure HIS base states.  Mainly states in the south, or that let independents vote.

Of course, base states alone aren't enough to propel either campaign into the front-runner seat. 

Chuck Todd points out that Clinton will probably try to take away Missouri, Georgia and Tennessee away from Obama.

And that Obama will be wooing voters in Arizona, Colorado and Arkansas away from Clinton. 

But for both candidates, three specific states are proving pivotal on Super Tuesday.

Massachusetts, Georgia and California.

So if a candidate gets California, plus one of either Georgia or Massachussetts, they pretty much own Super Tuesday.

As for John Edwards, Chuck Todd points out that he really needs to win South Carolina to stay in the running.  But if he DOES win that, then he'll be looking to win southern base states such as Alabama, Arkansas, Georgia and Oklahoma.

Now to the Republicans.

It's really too early to speculate what each candidate needs to accomplish on Super Tuesday.  Because, as Chuck Todd pointed out in his excellent First Thoughts post on Thursday morning, all of them desperately need a win BEFORE February 5th. 

Mike Huckabee needs to win South Carolina. Mitt Romney needs to win Michigan. John McCain needs South Carolina or Michigan (not to mention his neighbor, Nevada). Rudy Giuliani needs Florida.

Then it's onto Super Tuesday.  And, like the Democrats, three swing states look like the key to victory.

Illinois, Missouri and... California.

So whether you be Democrat or Republican, the fate of your candidate could rest in California.

Or somewhere else.

Or not at all.

As we said, it could all change in an instant. Which is a good part of what keeps it all so interesting!

In and Out: The endorsement is American political legend, but the last utterly decisive one might have been William Jennings Bryan backing Woodrow Wilson 96 years ago. Ask Howard Dean about Al Gore's endorsement. Or John McCain about Gary Bauer's in 2000. Or Rudy Giuliani about Pat Robertson's, which preceded by a seeming 17 minutes, the falling of the heavens on his candidacy last month. So today, John Kerry endorses Barack Obama... and Hillary Clinton cheers?

Super Tuesday Stakes:  Bill Richardson out and John Kerry in. To the Barack Obama camp, anyway. And does any of that impact the very specific roadmap that is the Democratic Primaries?

ODDBALL: Some genius crosses an MP3 player with a Taser, and we have an update on everyone's favorite elephant seal.

Victory Lapse: After publicly pretending he would at least consider reducing the number of Americans in harm's way in Iraq, President Bush, a year ago, announced the surge of more troops. Eventually up to 170-thousand. Tonight, fallen from the front pages but still uppermost in voters' minds... did the surge in Iraq work?

Keeping Tabs: The passing of celebrity who was, figuratively and literally, head and shoulders above most; the great mountaineer and adventurer Sir Edmund Hillary.

WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD: Radio Host Bill Cunningham versus Comedian Rush Limbaugh versus Billo for top honors

Rudy's Noise:  2093 fewer votes and he would have finished 5th in the Republican primary in New Hampshire on Tuesday night. Behind Ron Paul. So, one can understand that there might be some confusion in the advertising department of the Rudy Giuliani campaign. Still, with Saint Rudy of 9/11's pitch for the Republican presidential nomination hinging on how he does in Florida, one would have thought that the last person he would want to include in his commercials there, even in the most subliminal fashion, even for the briefest times, would be Keith.

This little chestnut slipped past us on Monday...John McCain tells a crowd in New Hampshire that he's not making any calls on bringing troops home or keeping them in Iraq, he's leaving that up to General Petraeus.

[YouTube:U6Ufj440avk]

In March of last year it was General Petraeus who famously said regarding the insurgency in Iraq

"Any student of history recognizes there is no military solution to a problem like that in Iraq,"

If the military alone can't put an end to the insurgency, should their (Petraeus) leader make the lone judgement on when to take American Forces out? Doesn't the future President have to be involved in that decision? 

Stunning results last night, and while Senators Clinton and Obama begin their post-New Hampshire trek around the nation, we're still wondering what happened.  We'll do a complete C.S.I. NH, trying to sort out what accounted for the huge late swing to Clinton, how so many pundits and pollsters got it wrong, and what it means for the road ahead. It will be an almost all '08 show tonight...and good news for all you who miss the 8p and 12a et shows, we'll be repeating a third time tonight at 10p et. Hope you can join us.

P.S. Big news for the Obama camp...the Illinois Senator has bounced back with a big Nevada endorsement.

All About Obama:  It is hard to believe that after six years of being buffeted by Republicans ranging from Saxby Chambliss to Dick Cheney to Rudy Giuliani about how only they can keep the Nation safe from terrorism, and that Democrats equal Death... That any Democrat could walk into a primary polling booth in New Hampshire tomorrow and vote for a Democrat who just did virtually the same thing. But in our fifth story on the Countdown tonight: on a day in which she had already teared up at one moment and then attacked Barack Obama the next... on a day in which she had already invoked Martin Luther King and President Johnson in a dubious analogy to herself and Senator Obama... Senator Hillary Clinton this afternoon played the Al-Qaeda card.

New Hampshire, Old Problems: For Republicans in New Hampshire today, the message was change... kind of an odd note, considering it would be change from a government dominated by Republicans for most of the past decade. In our fourth story tonight, the Republican Party heads into the nation's first primary tomorrow with no clear mandate, no clear message and no clear front-runner.

ODDBALL: Stunt drivers in Australia and the Great Bobby Knight pulls another stunt.
 
Over From the Start: In the modern political era, every presidential candidate who won both the Iowa caucuses and the New Hampshire primary went on to win their party's nomination. No exceptions. So in our third story on the Countdown, if Senator Barack Obama wins New Hampshire tomorrow night, is that it?

Good Ole Worsties:  Our number two story on the Countdown...The nightly cabaret that is our top three Worst Persons in the World...
 
WORST PERSON IN THE WORLD: Dr. Phil, you know who and Roger Clemens vie for tonight's top honors.

The Fatwa Continues: Well it has finally happened. The villagers have gotten their pitch-forks and their torches, and stormed the mad scientist's castle that is Fox News Channel. Our number one story on the Countdown: Sean Hannity chased by an angry mob of Ron Paul supporters in New Hampshire last night, barely 24 hours after Bill O'Reilly breached so many rules of journalistic etiquette at a Barack Obama event that the Secret Service had to intervene. In just moments, the insight of Billo biographer Marvin Kitman...And, the premiere of "Bill O'Reilly Actually Attacks Somebody Taller, Puppet Theatre"...