Tuesday preview

First of all, we have the final showdown of the 2008 election season: The long-awaited runoff (and trust me—if you live in any Georgia media market, it’s the long, long, long-awaited runoff) featuring incumbent Republican U.S. Sen. Saxby Chambliss against Democratic challenger State Sen. Jim Martin, which will basically determine whether the U.S. Senate becomes a filibuster-free zone.

Since all the other races are in the books, Chambliss and Martin have been able to draw all the celebrity firepower they have wanted over these past four weeks. Vanquished GOP presidential nominee John McCain made his first post-election appearance in Georgia on Chambliss’s behalf; he’s been joined on the stump by former GOP presidential candidates (and potential 2012 hopefuls?) Rudy Giuliani, Mike Huckabee and Mitt Romney. Meanwhile, former White House duo Bill Clinton and Al Gore made separate visits to Georgia on Martin’s behalf, and Barack Obama cut a radio ad for Martin, as well.

Today was no exception. The endorsement battle today pitted Alaska Gov. Sarah Palin, stumping for Chambliss at a rally in Perry, against rappers Ludacris, T.I. and Young Jeezy, who brought out a crowd for Martin in Atlanta.

SIDEBAR: I laughed out loud when I saw this short from the Associated Press about Ludacris’s appearance at the Martin event. Apparently, the AP feels it needs to explain to you how to say “LEW’ duh-criss.“ END SIDEBAR

SIDEBAR NO. 2: Regarding the rapper summit at the Martin rally: I love politics. But sometimes I wish politicians would be a little less painfully and insultingly obvious with their tactics. And while we’re on the subject, since they were there to help bolster Democratic turnout, I’d like to know whether these three fellows voted in the general election themselves. END SIDEBAR NO. 2

I know what you’re thinking. Hey, the results from that Senate race in Minnesota still haven’t been finalized! That’s still an outstanding race! Yes, you’re right; it is an outstanding race—outstanding, as in the sense of “still not completed,“ not in the sense of “totally awesome.“ The results from the race between GOP incumbent Norm Coleman and Democratic challenger and former “Saturday Night Live” comedian Al Franken are still being worked out in a mandatory statewide recount. But after the bipartisan Minnesota Board of Canvassers ruled unanimously that it didn’t have the authority to order that 1,000 absentee ballots, which Franken’s camp says were improperly disqualified, be reviewed and counted, Franken’s chances are fading in the Land of 10,000 Lakes.

And you know what happened to politicians who are facing long odds.

They get desperate.

And Franken’s camp is performing to the script. Franken’s attorney, Marc Elias, says the campaign may take this issue all the way to the ... yes, maybe the Supreme Court ... but more likely to the U.S. Senate.

(Yes, the body to which Franken is seeking election.)

(Yes, the body led by a near-supermajority of Franken’s party.)

Stick with me here:

The Board of Canvassers rejected the Franken campaign’s appeal about the absentee ballots on Nov. 26. As noted in TheHill.com, Elias had indicated last week that the campaign would not directly appeal the board’s ruling.

Today, Elias told reporters that the campaign “would appeal to the Board of Canvassers, courts or the U.S. Senate to ensure those ballots are counted.“

Why the Senate?

The U.S. Constitution allows each congressional chamber to be the “Judge of the Elections, Returns and Qualifications of its own Members,“ The Hill explains.

Hmm. No vested interest there, Founding Fathers. Did you guys write that one the same day you came up with the Electoral College? Was it check-on-the-people day? Or was it just a way of balancing out that whole reserved powers thing?

For his part, Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid is paving the way for folks not to be shocked when he reaches the long arm of the Senate into Minnesota’s state affairs. Reid “called the Board of Canvassers’ decision to not count the absentee ballots ‘a cause for great concern’ last week, fueling speculation that the Senate would explore the legality of the Minnesota recount’s results,“ The Hill reported.

And Elias has Reid on speed-dial:

“If ultimately there is no remedy before the canvassing board or before the courts, then that is certainly an option,” Elias said of the Senate’s potential intervention in the election results.

Just remember that Joe Lieberman is still out there, somewhere, plotting whether to caucus with the Democrats or the Republicans. He could be No. 59, 60 or 61 in the Democratic caucus, depending on how the Georgia and Minnesota contests shake out. And don’t be fooled: The possibility of him being No. 59, 60 or 61 in the Democratic caucus is the only reason he retained his Homeland Security chairmanship (which he’d undoubtedly lose if he started sitting with the Republicans at lunch).

If that isn’t enough, today is the deadline for the Big Three domestic automakers to have their homework in to the teacher: GM, Ford and Chrysler will submit to Congress their plans to restructure/reorganize/spend $25 billion federal tax dollars.

Check out this New York Times story that offers an expansive look at some of the major issues the Big Three. One of the biggest hurdles they have to clear: What to do about the 112 different car and truck models they sell through 15 brands in the United States. By contrast, the Times says, the top three Japanese automakers — Toyota, Honda and Nissan — offer 58 models combined sold through seven brands. Even with 200 percent of the model and brand diversity of their competitors, the Big Three account for only 47 percent of new vehicle sales in America, according to the Times.

Meanwhile, Ford’s CEO will travel to D.C. for this round of questioning in a Ford Escape Hybrid, a vehicle that gets much better fuel economy than a private jet. (GM and Chrysler declined to publicize their CEOs’ travel plans.) And the United Auto Workers union has signaled that it’s ready to at least start talking about ending a program that pays 3,000 workers near-full wages to do absolutely nothing.

That isn’t a glib swipe at unions. The UAW actually has a program where the Big Three pay workers—about 3,000 workers, as of now—to do absolutely nothing.

CONFESSION ALERT! I admit to a sore spot when it comes to the “jobs bank” issue. I have a college degree. I have nearly 10 years’ experience. But when I was working full time in my field of study, I made a little more than a third of the $31 an hour these people get to convert oxygen to carbon dioxide. END CONFESSION ALERT!

No, the Wall Street Journal reports, elimination of the so-called “jobs bank” “isn’t likely to be a part of the business plans that the auto makers will submit to Congress this week, when they head back to Washington in an effort to secure billions in emergency loans.“

But, hey! They’re at least willing to talk about it. That’s progress.

Finally, it seems that Bill Clinton is getting some press on this could-he-really-end-up-in-the-Senate? thing. Check it out here.

For the record, I don’t think New York Gov. David Patterson could do better than to appoint Caroline Kennedy to the seat. I don’t see eye to eye with her on every issue, but Kennedy would do a great job for New York. She has deeper roots there than the Clintons—deeper roots, especially, than Hillary Clinton herself did when she ran for Senate in 2000 after owning a home in Chappaqua for a mere 14 months. And for those who question the need to replace a woman with a woman in the Senate, I ask you: Why are we hearing talk about the need to replace a departing African-American—Barack Obama—with an African-American (congressmen Jesse Jackson Jr. and Danny Davis, among others)?

Of course, Kennedy may want nothing to do with the Senate. She—and Obama—may have other things in mind, as you may remember me telling you about earlier this year.