By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

It sometimes feels to me like the Presidential primaries should have started months ago.  As friends and viewers often remind me, it seems like we've been covering the 2008 campaign for years. So many candidates, month after month of debates and candidate forums, and all those polls. Well guess what? While we've been decorating, shopping, returning gifts, and making New Year's resolutions and reservations, the 2008 contest has finally reached the part where the voters get to decide.  You want drama? You've got it in Iowa where between the two parties there are five front runners.  And watching the candidates trying to break up the pack in these final three days has produced some bizarre moments on the campaign trail which we will tell you all about on tonight's program.

On top of all that, could we see a new independent candidate make a late entry into the race?  NBC's Mike Taibbi will tell us why all eyes are on Democrat, turned Republican, turned Independent Mike Bloomberg, the mayor of New York City.

We'll have the latest on the dispute in Pakistan over how Benazir Bhutto was killed.  We'll show you that new tape of the attack that has turned all of us into amateur ballistics experts.  What happens to her at the moment the shots are heard makes a compelling case that she was shot.  Pakistan's government, however, is sticking with its claim that she was killed when her head struck the sunroof of the vehicle she was in.  Ned Colt will wrap things up for us from Islamabad.

If you're thinking about earning a college degree through one of those popular on-line programs it will be worth watching Rehema Ellis tonight and her report about some that are not what they may appear to be.

Finally you should know Brian returns from vacation tomorrow.  I've enjoyed anchoring Nightly News over the last week, and appreciate your comments on the blogs, especially those saying I need a day off. (I'm pretty sure most of them came from my mom using aliases).  I'm going to take the advice, and spend a few days visiting family, and look forward to seeing you all again on my regular weekend broadcasts of TODAY and Nightly News. 

I wish all of you a safe, and happy New Year!

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

In an era where video cameras seem to be rolling wherever people are gathered, I've been waiting for a piece of video tape to emerge from the Benazir Bhutto assassination that might shed useful light on the question of whether she was shot to death, or, as the Pakistani government contends, she died from striking her head on the roof of the vehicle she was in.

The wait may be over. We received some video today that shows the gunman taking aim and Mrs. Bhutto standing in the vehicle's sunroof.  The shots are heard and we see Bhutto either fall or dive forward.  We also see the explosion that follows. I've now watched the tape at least six times, paying sharp attention to the movement of her hair, her veil, and her torso as the shots are heard.  I can tell you the video is not conclusive either way, but it may be the closet thing to a "Zapruder film" that we've seen from the Bhutto murder.  My guess is the tape will do little to change the opinions of those who believe the Pakistani government is being untruthful.

Jonathan Rugman, a correspondent from our British partner ITN has put together a terrific analysis of the tape along with some other interesting pieces of evidence, and we will air that report on Nightly News tonight.

A new MSNBC-McClatchy poll of likely Iowa caucus voters is out, and it shows Mitt Romney has managed to overcome the Mike Huckabee surge. The other headline is some late momentum in the John Edwards camp making for a three-way dead heat among Democratic frontrunners.  We'll show you the key numbers tonight.

Erin Burnett from CNBC will come on with me tonight to talk about the 2007 housing slump and whether there are signs of a turnaround in 2008.

Also tonight, it was 35 years ago this weekend that an Eastern Airlines L-1011 slammed into the Florida Everglades, killing 101 people. Seventy-five others survived, in large part due to one man and his airboat, which pulled many of them to safety before other rescuers arrived. Recently the survivors were reunited with their "angel of mercy" at the site of the crash. NBC's Kristen Dahlgren will bring us that story.
 
On a personal note, as an aviation "buff" and someone who studies aircraft accident reports, the crash of that Eastern Airlines jet is one that has always stood out in my mind because of the odd circumstances of how it happened. It started with a landing gear warning light as the plane was on approach to Miami.  As the three-man crew circled in a holding pattern trying to troubleshoot the warning light, one of them accidentally bumped the control column, causing the autopilot to switch off. That produced a warning bell that none of them heard. As a result the plane began a slow, shallow descent to the ground. The crew was too preoccupied to notice until it was too late to pull up. The giant L-1011 simply "flew" into the everglades. The passengers didn't have a hint their plane was about to crash until moments before the impact. As you might expect, that accident led to big changes in the way flight crews are trained. The biggest lesson, still taught today is: no matter what may be going wrong, fly the plane first!

Thanks for checking in. I hope you can join me tonight for NBC Nightly News.

by Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

If there is one thing we have all learned since September 11th, 2001, it is that it is extraordinarily difficult to read the tea leaves when it comes to al Qaeda.  When is a message just a message and not a coded attack signal?  When is a threat generic and not a countdown to a specific attack?

Osama bin Laden has surfaced today with yet another audiotape.  In this one he warns Iraq's Sunni Arabs against fighting al Qaeda, and he unleashes threats of holy war against Israel.  As is usual, the experts will analyze the tape to determine its authenticity, when it was recorded (the only date references appear to be September of this year), and if there are any hidden meanings.

Whether by design or coincidence, however, the timing of the tape serves to remind us why the United States is so concerned about the political situation in Pakistan.  Benazir Bhutto was widely admired by policy makers in this country and her death would have been major news no matter what the circumstances.  The fact is, the United States government wanted her back in Pakistan to help stabilize a country that is critical to the war against al Qaeda.  When the question is asked "where is Osama likely hiding?" the answer invariably is "somewhere in the tribal border areas along the Pakistan-Afghanistan border."  A stable, cooperative Pakistani government is necessary for the U.S. to continue the hunt for bin Laden and his associates.  If the death of Benazir Bhutto, possibly at the hands of al Qaeda, didn't remind us of that, this latest tape from bin Laden does.

Tonight on Nightly News, NBC's Ned Colt will report from Pakistan on more violent reaction to the death of Mrs. Bhutto, while here in New York, our Middle East bureau chief Richard Engel, who happens to be home for the holidays, will join me to talk about the significance of this new bin Laden tape.

Also on Nightly News tonight, we'll look at the rising number of police officers being killed in the line of duty.  And it is how many of them are being killed that you may find surprising.  Pat Dawson is working that story for us.

Next time a grocery store clerk asks you "paper or plastic?" you may have a different answer after seeing Kerry Sanders's story on what he found far out in the Pacific Ocean.  Plus, who doesn't admire perfection? Tonight, millions may witness it in a sports broadcast unlike any seen before. We'll tell you what that's all about when we see you tonight for NBC Nightly News.'

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

Good day from New York. Brian is off again tonight and I'll be anchoring Nightly News.

We're at the time of the year when those lists of the year's biggest news stories are about to be published. Chances are some of them had been compiled and written prior to yesterday. Thursday's assassination of Benazir Bhutto, like the Tsunami in late December of 2004, reminds us that the "slow" holiday news periods are often anything but.

Yesterday's events are likely to spill over into one of the major stories of 2008 as the Pervez Musharraf government, and the American role in facilitating Bhutto's return to Pakistan, are cast in a critical spotlight. Tonight NBC's Andrea Mitchell will continue her reporting on how all this affects future American influence in Pakistan, and by extension the hunt for Al qaeda leaders.

On the day Bhutto was laid to rest a remarkable piece of video has emerged that appears to show the gunman taking aim just seconds before he fired. Ned Colt is in Pakistan covering the funeral, the violent reaction, and a new and very different account of how Benazir Bhutto died.

On the campaign trail in this country, where candidates were quick to weigh in on the events in Pakistan, some comments by former Arkansas governor Mike Huckabee connecting the killing to the immigration issue here at home is drawing some sharp criticism. NBC's Lee Cowan will have a lot more on that.

Ann Curry will be back on tonight with a Dateline investigation into the ease of getting a bogus passport to cross just about any border. 

I hope you'll join us for the Friday edition of NBC Nightly News.

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

Just a few weeks after the 9/11 attacks I was invited by a teacher at my son's school here in New York City to come in and talk to some of the younger students about the attacks and what could happen next. If you had told me before that day that I would be able to hold a class of 4th graders at rapt attention for 45 minutes with lecture on terrorism and geopolitics I would have never believed it.

These weren't just any children. The school, in Greenwich Village, was just a mile or so from Ground Zero. Many of them, like my sons, saw the towers fall and witnessed the billowing clouds of dust as their parents whisked them home that day. Still, I will never forget standing before them with a globe and explaining how the U.S. was likely to attack Al Qaeda and Taliban forces in Afghanistan, and how we would need the help of a country called Pakistan. One of the very first questions I got was something along the lines of "are we friends with Pakistan?" I told them it was a strained relationship but that I suspected we were about to become "very good friends."

The United States has invested billions of dollars in Pakistan, and has done a lot to try and stabilize the government of Pervez Musharraf because Pakistan matters. It is the gateway to the Al Qaeda leaders who are the main targets in the U.S. war on terror, and it matters as much today as it did on 9/11. Today's assassination of opposition leader Benazir Bhutto threatens to further weaken the Musharraf government, and that matters to the United States.

I'll be sitting in again for Brian tonight on Nightly News. We plan extensive coverage of the Bhutto murder tonight, with accounts from the scene and reaction from the Bush administration, and how this could impact American foreign policy. Also, my colleague Ann Curry will join me on the set to share some of the interview she did with Mrs. Bhutto back in October.

I hope you can can join us tonight for NBC Nightly News.

By Kevin Tibbles, NBC News correspondent

Editor's note: Kevin Tibbles's report airs tonight on the broadcast.

I guess there still remains a bit of the "prospector spirit" in the America of today--that desire to explore, and hunt for buried treasure, and strike it rich.  The same desire that helped build this nation is alive and well and digging in a field outside Murfreesboro, Arkansas.

By John Rutherford, NBC News Producer, Washington

The Pentagon said three American soldiers died last week in Iraq, bringing the total U.S. casualties to 3,894 in Iraq and 469 in Afghanistan.

1. Army Pfc. Juctin McDaniel, 19, of Andover, N.H., liked helping his stepfather in the garden and playing basketball with his brothers and sisters. "Kinda quiet, but always ready to wave and say 'Hello,'" a neighbor told the Honolulu Advertiser. "He found a lot of direction having joined the military." McDaniel deployed to Iraq last month for a 15-month tour as a power generation equipment repairer. His Dec. 17 death in Baghdad in a non-combat incident was under investigation.

2. Army 1st Lt. Jeremy Ray, 26, of Houston loved guitars, classic cars, and motorcycles. He was an Eagle Scout and a graduate of Texas A&M University. He deployed to Iraq Nov. 8 with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment and was killed Dec. 20 by a suicide bomber in Kanaan. "He probably never felt it," his father told Fox26. "It was just that quick." Ray's family has had a hard time coping with his death. "I woke up this morning thinking it was a nightmare," Ray's father told Fox26.

3. Army Pfc. George Howell, 24, of Salinas, Calif., enlisted six months ago because he couldn't find a job. "Georgie could not find anything, so he went into the service," his uncle told the Salinas Californian. "When he came home, he looked sharp. He straightened out, and you could tell he was proud of it." Howell, with the 10th Mountain Division, was killed Dec. 21 by a roadside bomb in Riyadh, Iraq. He leaves his pregnant wife, Kirsten, daughter, Niya, 5, and son, Raiden, 2.

Washington Producer John Rutherford is a decorated Vietnam veteran. He posts a weekly tribute to service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

Good day. Brian continues his week off and I'll be sitting in for him again tonight.

We'll be reporting the story so many people are talking about today, the mauling of three people by an escaped tiger at the San Francisco zoo. One of the victims was killed. The thing that has to give any zoo-goer pause is that no one can say how the tiger escaped. Her handlers say she definitely didn't exit through the door, which leaves only the possibility she managed to scale the 15-foot wide moat and 20-foot tall wall. Our Peter Alexander is working the story for us and we'll hear from him on the newscast tonight.

We're reporting another story that seems to defy the odds. It is the rescue of a 12-year old American girl stranded in the Panamanian jungle after the small plane she was on crashed killing everyone else on board. The victims include the Panamanian pilot, an American hedge fund manager and his teenage daughter who was a friend of the young survivor.

It's the day after Christmas, and most of us have yet to receive credit card bills reflecting our December spending. If the latest economic data holds true, however, Americans will sink deeper into credit card debt, while having a hard time paying their bills. Along with another alarming drop in home prices announced today, and anemic holiday retail sales numbers, experts tell us it deepens concern about the health of the economy as we head into 2008. We'll drill down deeper on these economic headlines on Nightly News tonight.

We will also show you the future of energy efficient driving. A car that goes one better than those popular hybrids, and will never require a trip to the gas station.

Finally an update on the Christmas night plans I wrote about on yesterday's blog. We decided not to try out the new chocolate fondue maker after all ( no angel food cake in the house) and instead went for a store-bought pumpkin pie, which was surprisingly tasty. And even after watching it year after year, I can say "A Christmas Story" still leaves my family chuckling at the words, "You'll shoot your eye out kid!"

I hope your Christmas was a good one too. Thanks for checking in. We'll look for you tonight on NBC Nightly News.

This marks the second installment of 'Across America,' a segment highlighting outstanding local coverage from NBC affiliates. For Brian's take on the evolution of 'Across America,' click here.

To watch this report, click here.

by Bob Redell, KNTV

My assistant news director posed an interesting hypothetical: If you could give anyone a digital camera and have him or her take pictures, who would it be? My daughter first came to mind. I'd love to know what in the world she's doing when I'm not around. Then again, maybe not.

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

Hello from New York. Brian is taking the week off and I'll be in the anchor chair again tonight.

If you are celebrating the day I hope you are having a merry Christmas. I'm pleased to say I got every thing I was wishing for, which is basically anything with a power cord and/or battery compartment. Tonight we'll sit down as a family, try out the new chocolate fondue maker and watch our favorite holiday film "A Christmas Story." ( I never tire of watching Flick get his tongue stuck to the playground pole).

Meantime, if you were anywhere near a department store or mall this past weekend you may find it hard to imagine that retailers still managed to come up short of their sales expectations. Despite the huge crowds and long lines, a consumer spending report issued by Master Card, Inc. today, finds holiday sales were up just 2.4 percent when you exclude gasoline expenditures. They are, of course, early numbers, and in no way the final word on Christmas 2007. The good news for consumers is that we may see some big sales as soon as tomorrow. We'll have more on all this tonight on Nightly News.

With just over a week now until the Iowa presidential caucuses, the candidates will be back out in force tomorrow shopping for votes. We've asked CNBC'S Chief Washington correspondent John Harwood to join us tonight to talk about what are essentially still some very wide-open early races.

NBC's Stephanie Gosk spent this Christmas day touring nine American bases in Iraq with a top U.S. General in Iraq. We'll hear from troop who in some cases are spending their fourth Christmas in harm's way far from home.

Thanks for clicking on the blog. I hope you can spend some more time with us tonight when we come on the air with NBC Nightly News.

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

Good afternoon from New York. Brian is taking the Christmas week off and I will be here in his place.

The streets around our Rockefeller Center studios are jammed with shoppers, perhaps validating the predictions that a lot of the money spent on this season will be spent at the last minute. Every year it seems there is an obsession with how well retailers will do each Christmas, but this season there is a strong belief the holiday sales numbers will tell us whether we are headed into, or perhaps already in, a recession. The first report on this weekend's sales figures is coming out late this afternoon and we will be reporting those numbers tonight on Nightly News.

The frenzied political campaign took a breath on this Christmas eve. Republican candidate Rudy Giuliani paid his annual visit to Hale House, a children and family services institution in Harlem, where he tried to clarify lingering questions about his health. For the first time the former mayor declared unequivocally that he did not have cancer, while promising his physician will have more to say later in the week. NBC's John Yang will have a lot more on how questions over Giuliani's health have dogged his campaign since he was rushed to a St. Louis hospital last week.

We're also looking at Christmas through the eyes of Christians in Iraq and China, and at the life of jazz legend Oscar Peterson who has died at the age of 82.

I hope you can join us tonight for NBC Nightly News. Best wishes for a safe and happy Christmas.

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

Good afternoon from New York, where at 53 degrees it hardly feels like Christmas. Those wishing for a white Christmas however may think twice after seeing the misery snow is causing across the upper midwest this weekend. Thousands are without power, there have been numerous car accidents, and severe travel disruptions. Here in the east the rain is snarling air traffic with delays at New York's JFK airport running 4 hours. Many people are finding it especially difficult to reach their holiday destinations, and we'll have the very latest on our newscast tonight.

This will be the fifth Christmas in which American troops will be marking the holiday in Iraq. Tonight we will talk to retired Army General Barry McCaffrey who has just returned from Iraq with a surprisingly upbeat and positive report. The General, who has been a vocal critic of the handling of the war will be with me live to explain his new outlook.

We've got an eye opening report from Lisa Myers reminding us that not all hospitals are created equal. She'll tell us why some hospitals have actually been forced to call 911 during medical emergencies.

From South Africa I'll share the story of a great invention that's turning child's play into a source of clean water in a place that desperately needs it.

I hope you'll join us tonight for NBC Nightly News.

By Amber Payne, NBC Nightly News associate producer

Kids Play. Water Pumps.

2500 people in an under-served African community are provided with safe, clean drinking water. All at no cost to the community.

In this edition of "Making a Difference," the good deeds are taking place on many levels.

It starts with South African entrepreneur Trevor Field. He knew the African water crisis was serious--- 40% of Sub-Saharan Africans lack access to water and 60% lack access to proper sanitation.  Field took it upon himself to find a creative way to solve the country's water problem. He devised the PlayPump® water system--- a merry-go-round attached to a water pump, a storage tank and a tap. When kids play and spin, they pump up to 370 gallons an hour.

How it Works

All four sides of the storage tank are leased as billboards, with two sides for consumer advertising and the other two for health and educational messages. The revenue generated pays for pump maintenance so that the community doesn't incur any cost. Each system has a maintenance guarantee of at least 10 years.

Kate Grabowski's 4th grade class in Glastonbury, Connecticut learned about the kid-powered PlayPumps and made it their mission to sponsor a pump for South African school children in November 2006.

They hooked up with RandomKid,an organization that helps kids help others. All of their philanthropic ideas are initiated by kids for kids. 13-year-old Talia Leman is the CEO and she launched the organization 3 years ago in response to Hurricane Katrina when she mobilized children nationwide, raising $10 million dollars for relief. They have since helped children around the country launch projects ranging from building schools in Cambodia to funding cancer research.

The excitement spread and schools from California and Iowa got on board to contribute money toward a PlayPump. Each school came up with their own marketing scheme, selling bottled water in front of yoga studios and grocery stores. They designed unique brands--- Glastonbury called theirs "Water 4 Water," Portola Elementary in California dubbed theirs "Water For Life," and The Academy in Des Moines sold "AquaShare." Teachers subscribed to daily water delivery service, local businesses bought it in bulk. Students passionately sold on weekends, holidays, and over summer break.

In addition to improving sanitation and hygiene, the close proximity of the pumps allows women and girls, who bear most of the gathering burden, to focus on child care and education.

PlayPumps International is the nonprofit organization that enables individuals, governments, foundations, and companies to donate PlayPump water systems to rural African communities and schools.  Just $24 will give live-saving clean water to four children for up to ten years.

The South African students of Masana Primary perform a song of thanks for the American children who raised $14,000 dollars and sponsored their PlayPump® water system.

By Lester Holt, NBC News anchor

It's an old travelers joke: Even on the way to Heaven you'll have to change planes at O'Hare. (There's also an Atlanta Hartsfield version of the joke).  Let's hope not.  Chicago's busy airport is for a second day in a row the root of some major flight delays keeping holiday travelers from reaching their destinations on time.  Fog and low clouds are slowing operations at O'Hare , and since it is a major hub to two of the nation's two biggest airlines, problems there are having a ripple affect across the system today.  We'll be reporting on the holiday weekend travel picture on Nighty News this evening.

This is not only a big weekend for last minute shoppers.  There is also a lot of last minute campaigning under way.  The presidential candidates are doing their best to get on the radar of all those undecided voters in Iowa before they head home to be with their families for Christmas.  In terms of useable campaign days before the caucuses we are almost to the point where you can count them on one hand.  NBC's Savannah Guthrie will be covering the races for us tonight with emphasis on those undecided voters. We'll also hear from GOP candidate Rudy Giuliani who for the first time is offering details on the health problems that caused him to have his plane turned around this week. Bloggers and pundits have been speculating and weighing-in on this all week, and now the former New York mayor is providing some answers.

Kerry Sanders reports on the joy and anger surrounding the release of a young American suddenly released from a Central American prison where he was serving a 30-year sentence for murder.

Those and other stories including a look at the debate over what rights, if any,  should be afforded to college students whose immigrant families are living in this country illegally.

As always, a big thanks for checking in.  We'll look for you tonight on NBC Nightly News.

By Brian Wililams, Anchor and managing editor

It won't surprise some of you to learn that I'm one of those dads who makes a special point, each year at Thanksgiving and Christmas, to seek out the president's proclamation and read it aloud to my wife and children (as my father did to me) as they flee the room. I've always been interested in such things, and when I covered the White House I always eagerly grabbed a copy of the fresh, actual press release when it was put in the bins in the West Wing press room. I don't recall anyone else grabbing a copy. It's in that spirit (I know how to build excitement, don't I?) that I offer the following. A collection of the thoughts and wishes of our Chief Executives over the years during this holiday season. A list of sources for these quotes can be found below.

My fellow Americans:

There are many men and women in America -- sincere and faithful men and women -- who are asking themselves this Christmas: How can we light our trees? How can we give our gifts? How can we meet and worship with love and with uplifted spirit and heart in a world at war, a world of fighting and suffering and death? How can we pause, even for a day, even for Christmas Day, in our urgent labor of arming a decent humanity against the enemies which beset it? How can we put the world aside, as men and women put the world aside in peaceful years, to rejoice in the birth of Christ? (1)
It is well in this solemn hour that we bow to Washington, Jefferson, Jackson, and Lincoln as we face our destiny with its hopes and fears -- its burdens and its responsibilities. Out of the past we shall gather wisdom and inspiration to chart our future course. (2)
In the light of Christmas, the dark curtains of the world are drawn aside for the moment. We see more clearly our neighbors next door, and our neighbors in other nations. We see ourselves and the responsibilities that belong to us. (3)
This has been a year of peril when the peace has been sorely threatened. But it has been a year when peril was faced and when reason ruled. As a result, we may talk, at this Christmas, just a little bit more confidently of peace on earth, good will to men. (4)
We can -- we do -- live tonight in new hope and new confidence and new faith in ourselves and in what we can do together through the future… We must remember, and we must never forget, that the hopes and the fears of all the years rest with us, as with no other people in all history. (5)
There are times, of course, when we tire of the challenge. There are times when we would not like to accept that position of leadership, but let us remember that unless America, at this time in history, accepts the responsibility to lead for peace, we may not have it in the world. (6)
The true spirit of this season can best be seen in our faces. The children here tonight, like millions of children around the world, reflect the wonder and the excitement of anticipation. Those of us who are older look forward to the warmth of reunions with families and with friends. Traditions, treasured memories, shared hopes -- these are the ties that bind families together and nations together. (7)
Our Nation is not one of solemn faces and sad demeanors, but our Nation is one of hope and vision and even happiness. And Christmas is a time to remind us that even when we do suffer and are disappointed in the United States and live even a dismal life, compared to our own immediate neighbors, compared to most of the rest of the world, we indeed have a joyous life and a wonderful life. God has blessed us in this country. (8)
Tonight, in millions of American homes, the glow of the Christmas tree is a reflection of the love Jesus taught us. Like the shepherds and wise men of that first Christmas, we Americans have always tried to follow a higher light, a star, if you will. At lonely campfire vigils along the frontier, in the darkest days of the Great Depression, through war and peace, the twin beacons of faith and freedom have brightened the American sky. At times our footsteps may have faltered, but trusting in God's help, we've never lost our way. (9)
Events during the past year have given us a renewed sense of hope, yet in some parts of the world, peace remains an elusive blessing this Christmas. Even in some of our own cities, poverty, despair, and drug-related violence prevent families and individuals from sharing in the promise of this season. Therefore, let us strive, by following Christ's example in word and deed, to make peace on Earth a reality for all of God's children. (10)
As we gather to decorate our trees and light our menorahs, let us remember the true meaning of the holidays by taking some time to give to those who need it most. And let us be thankful for the sacrifices of all those who serve us, especially those who serve us in the military who won't be home this year for Christmas. (11)
As we approach Christmas in this time of war, we pray for freedom and justice and peace on Earth. In his Christmas Eve address to the Nation in 1941, Franklin Roosevelt said, "Against enemies who preach the principles of hate and practice them, we set our faith in human love, and in God's care for us and all men everywhere." (12)
It is in that spirit, and with particular thoughtfulness of those, our sons and brothers, who serve in our armed forces on land and sea, near and far -- those who serve for us and endure for us that we light our Christmas candles now across the continent from one coast to the other on this Christmas Eve. (1)
I give you and send you one and all, old and young, a Merry Christmas and a truly Happy New Year. And so, for now and for always "God Bless Us Every One." (13)

Thank you for reading that. You will please forgive me if I take some time to be with the above-mentioned family over the holiday break. Please show Lester Holt and all who sit in the chair the very same wonderful loyalty you show me night after night, in thick and thin and for better or worse. I'll see you before too long, when the Holidays will give way to politics, as 2008 gets off to a galloping start. Happy Holidays -- Merry Christmas -- Happy New Year to you and yours. And thanks for all you've done for us this past year.

(1) Franklin D. Roosevelt, December 24, 1941
(2) Harry S. Truman, December 24, 1945
(3) Dwight D. Eisenhower, December 20, 1956
(4) John F. Kennedy, December 17, 1962
(5) Lyndon B. Johnson, December 22, 1963
(6) Richard M. Nixon, December 14, 1973
(7) Gerald R. Ford, December 17, 1974
(8) Jimmy Carter, December 15, 1977
(9) Ronald Reagan, December 23, 1981
(10) George H.W. Bush, December 18, 1990
(11) Bill Clinton, December 11, 2000
(12) George W. Bush, December 1, 2005
(13) Franklin D. Roosevelt, December 24, 1933

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

A few things before we get going:

Do we believe Roger Clemens?

And to those of you who have written about Multiple Myeloma, thank you. Indeed, our family has been touched by it, and its my pleasure to support the good folks (and great achievements) of the MMRF. Dr. Ken Anderson is regarded as something of a living saint by the patients who have come to know him.

Last night, minutes after our story about the "floating cross" some people insist was intentionally featured in the Huckabee Christmas campaign ad, we got emails from viewers saying they had noticed something similar in the background during our interview with Time Magazine managing editor Rick Stengel. I can't believe people "discovered" it. Or maybe it's true that people just see what they want to see.

Yesterday we talked about the OEOB and energy. I listed quotes to show that "energy independence" is not a new goal. Today we concentrate on silverware. The moral of the collection of quotes below: President Bush wasn't the first one to joke -- as he did today -- about people "stealing" the silverware from the White House. Nor was he joking about it for the first time! Take a look at these varied attempts at presidential humor, all of a theme:

Good morning. I hope you all enjoyed the holiday reception at the White House as much as Laura and I enjoyed it. We took an inventory of the silverware, and this year only a few pieces were missing. So like if you see Gregory, tell him to bring them back.
-- President Bush at today's press conference (referring to NBC's David Gregory)

I love meeting with the Members. For those of you who have been to our office, thanks for coming. For those of you that have not been to our office yet, you're coming. Just don't take any silverware. [Laughter]
-- President Bush, February 2, 2001, two weeks after taking office; remarks at the Republican Congressional Retreat in Williamsburg, Virginia

It's good to see my old fellow owner, "the Boss." [Laughter] What a record you've had -- a man who demands excellence and oftentimes gets it. [Laughter] But thank you for coming, George. I know the real boss of the Yankees is here, too, Arthur Richman. [Laughter] How are you, Arthur? Good to see you. I told you one of these days we would get to the White House. Just don't take any silverware, Arthur. [Laughter]
-- President Bush, May 4, 2001, referring to Yankees owner George Steinbrenner and senior advisor Arthur Richman during remarks honoring 2000 World Series Champion New York Yankees.

Thank you all for coming. I'll see you Thursday, coats and ties. [Laughter] This year, Gregory, don't take any silverware. [Laughter]
-- President Bush, December 15, 2003 press conference; referring to upcoming holiday party

I want to thank Bob Wallace, the executive director. He spends a lot of time in the Oval Office. I'm always checking the silverware drawer. [Laughter]
-- President Bush, August 22, 2007, referring to VFW executive director Robert E. Wallace during remarks at Veterans of Foreign Wars National Convention in Kansas City, Missouri.

As you know, this is the second time that we've had editorial cartoonists here during this term. Last May 1 had some of you over for lunch. We're still looking for the missing silverware. [Laughter]
-- President Ronald Reagan, May 7, 1987; remarks to Members of the American Association of Editorial Cartoonists

We have a lot of ground to cover tonight -- from New Orleans to Washington. We'll have an update on Rudy Giuliani's health, and a report on the so-called "War on Christmas." (My favorite is the retailing website that talks about opening gifts on "holiday morning"... exactly what morning is that?) We'll cover politics, medicine and more.

We hope you can join us tonight -- and thank you.

By Mary Murray, NBC News Havana bureau chief

Reporting from communist

By John Rutherford, NBC News producer, Washington

Three civilian contractors, among 11 Americans killed last week in Iraq, died Dec. 9 when their vehicle was struck by a roadside bomb southeast of Baghdad. A fourth contractor, badly injured, was expected to survive.

"I don't know, I guess it just wasn't his time to go," Christine Johnson said of her injured husband, Billy, according to the Milford (Mass.) Daily News.

All four men were military veterans who willingly took on the dangerous assignment of providing security for contractors who search for and destroy old Iraqi munitions stockpiles.

"It's just in their blood," Christine Johnson told the Daily News. "It's part of them, but I think he [her husband] is done now."

There are 180,000 civilian contractors in Iraq. They come from all over the world and easily outnumber the 166,000 U.S. troops in that country. Some of the contractors have dangerous jobs but most are non-Americans who carry out support duties once performed by the military, such as dish washing, trash pickup, and laundry. At least 1,078 contractors have died in the war, according to the Associated Press.

The dead contractors are the first three of last week's 15 casualties to be listed below:

1. Michael Doheny, 35, of Omaha, Neb., an avid baseball fan, graduated from high school in Broken Bow, Neb., and served eight years in the Marines before going into private security. Doheny was on his third tour as a civilian contractor in Iraq. "He loved his job in Iraq, and he loved being over there," his wife of six years, Melissa, told the Associated Press. Doheny's body was escorted back to Nebraska by his brother, a Marine serving in Iraq.

2. Micah Shaw, 32, of Vancouver, Wash., served five years as a Navy medic. "I always thought of my husband as being invincible and indestructible," his wife, Elena, told the Columbian newspaper. "He had the heart of a warrior." Shaw was in Iraq trying to save up enough money to take a safer job back in the states, perhaps in law enforcement. Besides Elena, Shaw is survived by their daughters, Emily, 8, and Lilly, 2, and son, Casey, 5.

3. Steven Evrard, 36, of Arlington, Texas, served as a police officer in Big Spring, Texas, from 2001 to 2006. "He was a very good officer, a real go-getter," a Big Spring police officer told the Big Spring Herald. Evrard, Doney, and Shaw worked for SOC-SMG Inc., a security company in Nevada that was a subcontractor for a New Jersey firm, Tetra Tech EC Inc. Evrard was on his second tour in Iraq. He is survived by his widow, Tanya.

4. Army Spc. Randy Pickering, 31, of Bovey, Minn., died Dec. 9 in a non-combat incident in Baghdad. His death was under investigation. He was remembered as a talented artist who led a hard life. "Randy didn't really have any family," a posting on megatokyo.com said. "His friends and the art community were all he really had." Pickering was well-known online and had a Live Journal account. "He was a very skilled storyteller and comic artist," another posting said.

5. Army Cpl. Tanner O'Leary, 23, of Eagle Butte, S.D., a member of the Cheyenne River Sioux Tribe, grew up on his family's ranch with his mother and sister. He loved to crack jokes, work outside, and spend time with the people he loved, especially his 4-year-old daughter, Alexis. "Pretty easy-going, happy-go-lucky kid," his cousin told keloland.com. O'Leary, with the 82nd Airborne Division, was killed Dec. 9 by a roadside bomb in Musa Qal'eh, Afghanistan.

6. Army Spc. Johnathan Lahmann, 21, of Richmond, Ind., used to mow his next-door neighbor's lawn. "Very polite kid, good manners," the neighbor told the Indianapolis Star. Lahmann studied auto repair and planned to become a mechanic. He had been in Iraq for only a few weeks with the 36th Engineer Brigade when he died Dec. 10 of wounds suffered in a roadside bombing in Bayji, Iraq. "That hurts," his neighbor told the Star. "He was a great kid."

7. Navy Chief Petty Officer Mark Carter, 27, liked skateboarding, paint ball, and rock climbing growing up in Fallbrook, Calif. "He was a bit of a thrill-seeker," a family friend told the Virginian-Pilot. Carter became a Navy SEAL after graduating from high school in 1998. "That's all he ever wanted to do," a friend told the North County Times. Carter was killed Dec. 11 during combat operations in Iraq. He was the 400th Iraq casualty to be buried at Arlington National Cemetery.

8. Army Staff Sgt. Gregory Elam, 39, of Columbus, Ga., recently returned to active duty from the reserves. "He decided he wanted to come back in and take care of soldiers," an Army colleague said. Elam was in charge of a team of mortuary affairs specialists for the 101st Airborne Division when he died Dec. 11 of an undisclosed illness in Kandahar, Afghanistan. He is survived by his widow, Evangelist Angela Elam, and daughters, Jamieliah, 15, and Imani, 8.

9. Army Cpl. Joshua Blaney, 25, of Matthews, N.C., received a Purple Heart four years ago for injuries suffered in a roadside bombing in Iraq. He was in the lead vehicle of a convoy when the bomb exploded, wounding him in the leg. On Dec. 12, he was again in the lead vehicle of a convoy, this time in eastern Afghanistan, when a roadside bomb detonated, destroying his truck. Blaney, with the 173rd Airborne Brigade, died of his wounds at Forward Operating Base Curry.

10. Army Staff Sgt. Michael Gabel, 30, of Crowley, La., was quoted in the New York Times four years ago as saying, "Some guys here say, 'We've got to the place that we've been waiting for all our lives.' They love it. Other guys think it's like sitting at a PlayStation playing war, only for real. But the thing about a PlayStation is, when you die, you can hit the reset button." Gabel died of wounds suffered in the same bomb blast that killed Cpl. Blaney.

11. Army Spc. Brynn Naylor, 21, of Roswell, N.M., was a talented tennis player who turned down college scholarship offers to enlist in the Army. "I just think that it was one of those things he wanted to do, to serve his country," a family friend told the Colorado Springs Gazette. Naylor, who turned 21 on Dec. 2, was killed Dec. 13 by small arms fire in Baghdad. He was due home Dec. 27 after a 15-month tour in Iraq with the 2nd Infantry Division.

12. Army Sgt. Samuel Kelsey, 24, of Troup, Texas, was the only child of Denina Kelsey. "He was my life, my breath," she told the Tyler Morning Telegraph. "Everything I did in my life I did for my child." Kelsey was home on leave in September. "I didn't want him to go back," his mother told KLTV, "but he told me, 'I'll be all right, Momma,' and promised me he would come home." Kelsey was killed Dec. 13 by a roadside bomb in Tunnis, Iraq. He was with the 3rd Infantry Division.

13. Army Pvt. Daren Smith, 19, of Helena, Mont., graduated from high school in 2006 and studied computers for one semester at the University of Montana-Helena College of Technology. He enlisted in March. A cavalry scout with the 10th Mountain Division, Smith died Dec. 13 in Baghdad of wounds suffered in a non-combat incident. His death was under investigation. Smith was the sixth service member from Helena and the 22nd from Montana to die in Iraq.

14. Army Sgt. 1st Class Jonathan Lowery, 38, liked to hunt and fish while growing up in Houlton, Maine, pop. 6,500. A former drill sergeant, he spent 19 years in the Army and was on his second tour in Iraq. "He was very well versed in combat," his brother told the Boston Globe. "He was a commanding presence." Lowery, with the 3rd Armored Cavalry Regiment, was killed Dec. 14 by small arms fire in Mosul, Iraq. He is survived by two sons, ages 8 and 11.

15. Army Sgt. Austin Pratt, 22, of Cadet, Mo., one of eight children, was a good baseball prospect. "My dream, of course, was that he'd pitch for the St. Louis Cardinals," his brother told KSDK. Pratt, with the 10th Mountain Division, died Dec. 15 in Balad, Iraq, in a non-combat incident. His family was assured he did not take his own life, KSDK reported. Pratt, who had his tour extended just before his scheduled discharge, would have turned 23 on Dec. 19.

Washington Producer John Rutherford is a decorated Vietnam veteran. He posts a weekly tribute to service members killed in Iraq and Afghanistan

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

Before I finish a thought that began on the air last night, a story from this morning:

We were midway through our morning editorial conference call when someone said, "Look at what's on MSNBC!" -- It was a live picture of smoke rolling out the windows of the Executive Office Building next to the White House. I immediately reeled back to my time years ago as a White House intern. I knew the massive building almost by heart -- I could tell from the windows and balcony exactly where the fire was burning, and I even remembered details (the floor, the ceiling, the vice president's desk with the signatures under glass in the drawer, the bullet-proof glass shields -- everything down to the light switches and fixtures) from the many tours I had led down that hall and through that room. I shudder to think of the history lost in the fire, not to mention the beauty of the offices and furnishings, the records and telecommunications equipment and the water and smoke damage for several floors above and below the fire. (We're trying to confirm a report that all firefighters entering the building had to be accompanied by Secret Service -- before they could fight the fire. If true, it is the bureacracy of security run amok, and someone should probably lose their job over it.)

The magnificent 19th century building, now officially called the Eisenhower Executive Office Building, once housed the Departments of State, War and the Navy. For years, it was known as the Old Executive Office Building, and despite my love for President Eisenhower, I will forever call the building the "OEOB," as a lot of Washington veterans do (the same people who still call the airport "National"). I was stunned to see the live pictures of the unfolding disaster. I understand there was one injury: a Marine who cut himself breaking out a window.

We have a number of visitors in the studio tonight: correspondents Ian Williams, Janet Shamlian, and TIME Magazine Editor Rick Stengel, on his "Person of the Year" cover choice, Vladimir Putin. My nominee? Mother Earth. I lost.

Now -- about last night. I mentioned on the air to Anne Thompson that Richard Nixon lit the national Christmas Tree in 1973 -- but it wasn't much of a lighting ceremony -- there was ONE LIGHT on the tree due to the "energy crisis" at the time. Nixon pledged to a program that would make us "energy independent" by 1980. How's that program going, exactly?

To that end, a selection of similar quotes follow... including Nixon's original. Read, think about it, and enjoy.

Let us set as our national goal, in the spirit of Apollo, with the determination of the Manhattan Project, that by the end of this decade we will have developed the potential to meet our own energy needs without depending on any foreign energy sources. Let us pledge that by 1980, under Project Independence, we shall be able to meet America's energy needs from America's own energy resources.
-- President Richard Nixon, November 7, 1973

This year we will drive a little slower. This year the thermostats will be a little lower. This year every American perhaps will sacrifice a little, but no one will suffer. But we will do it for a great goal, the goal, first, of seeing to it that in a year when our energy supplies are not as high as we need, we can prepare for the future, and also a year in which America will make a great stride forward toward a new, great goal, and that is, by the year 1980 this Nation, which will celebrate its 200th anniversary of independence in 1976-by 1980 will celebrate Project Independence, when we are independent of any other country in the world where our energy supply is concerned.
-- President Richard Nixon, December 14, 1973 (lighting the national Christmas tree, with just one light at the top)

By 1985 -- 10 years from now -- the United States will be invulnerable to foreign energy disruptions or oil embargoes such as we experienced last year.
-- President Gerald Ford, January 13, 1975

This country needs to regain its independence from foreign sources of energy, and the sooner the better.
-- President Gerald Ford, May 27, 1975

We simply must balance our demand for energy with our rapidly shrinking resources. By acting now we can control our future instead of letting the future control us.
-- President Jimmy Carter, April 18, 1977

In little more than two decades we've gone from a position of energy independence to one in which almost half the oil we use comes from foreign countries, at prices that are going through the roof.
-- President Jimmy Carter, July 15, 1979

We don't need an Energy Department to solve our basic energy problem. As long as we let the forces of the marketplace work without undue interference, the ingenuity of consumers, business, producers, and inventors will do that for us.
-- President Ronald Reagan, September 24, 1981

We are, I will be the first to concede, a long way from total energy independence. Our imports of foreign oil have been climbing steadily since 1985 and now stand at 42 percent of our total consumption. Too many of those oil imports come from sources in troubled parts of the world.
-- President George H.W. Bush, January 20, 1991

We should be trying to become less energy dependent.
-- President Bill Clinton, July 15, 1996

One of the most serious long-term challenges facing our country is dependence on oil, especially oil from foreign lands... Because this dependence harms us economically through high and volatile prices at the gas pump. Dependence creates pollution and contributes to greenhouse gas emissions. It threatens our national security by making us vulnerable regimes in unstable regions of the world. It makes us vulnerable to terrorists who might attack oil infrastructure.
-- President George W. Bush, today -- December 19, 2007

We hope you can join us tonight, as always.

By Janet Shamlian, NBC News correspondent

Editor's note: After Janet Shamlian's report aired on the broadcast, we received many of your emails asking how you can help the Sanchez family. This is a link to the Jeffco Action Center, which says it will direct all donations to the Sanchez's.

It's a new and uncomfortable position. Michiko and David Sanchez never thought they'd need help. They both have full time jobs, and their combined income of $60,000 was enough to allow them to donate 10 percent to their church. That was last year. This year, the Sanchez' are the recipients of the kind of goodwill they used to selflessly offer others. After their mortgage jumped, they lost their house to foreclosure. Now, as they save for a deposit on an apartment, they're getting their groceries from a food pantry. When I visited them in Denver a few days ago, they had $60 to make it to payday Friday. With three children in the home, they've already told the kids.. there won't be any Christmas gifts under the tree.

Their story comes as no surprise to food banks across the country, struggling with an unprecedented need from families trying to make ends meet. The weakened economy and the credit crunch has transformed tens of thousands of middle class Americans from donors to reluctant recipients. At the Jeffco Action Center in Denver, donations are down 50 percent from last year and the non-profit will have to buy food for the first time in its 39 year history. 75 percent of the needy there hold a full time job.

Michiko Sanchez has no room for pity and chooses to look at their struggle as a way to teach her kids about the season's true meaning. "There won't be any presents," she told me, "but we'll spend the day together, celebrating the wealth of our love."

Click here for one of the organizations featured in this report.

By Pete Williams, NBC News Justice correspondent (and architecture buff)

Sankar Masthri is a monkey catcher. It says so on his business card.

"Monkey, Dog Hunter," it reads, together with little drawings of his targets and his cell phone number. The phone's ringing a lot these days, as India's capital tries to rid itself of an exploding primate population that's accused of all kinds of mayhem.

"Problem is, monkeys [are] getting smart," Masthri said, as we watched from a distance as one audacious monkey leaned inside a cage baited with bananas and made away with the food before Masthri could pull a wire to close the hatch and trap it.

Monkey hunters are paid 450 rupees (around $11) per monkey, a good rate by local standards. The monkeys are taken to reserves outside the city after they are caught. Masthri claimed to have caught scores in recent days, but the day we joined him was clearly slow going.

"Smart monkey," he repeated, shaking his head and again taking cover behind a bush, wire in hand.

There are an estimated 20,000 monkeys in Delhi, and the effort to get rid of them has taken on new urgency after the deputy mayor of Delhi plunged to his death in October while trying to fend off a group of primates on his balcony.  

"Marauding monkeys kill deputy mayor," screamed one newspaper headline. The media was soon filled with lurid tales of monkeys terrorizing the city.

Later, a group of monkeys went on a rampage in a low-income neighborhood, injuring more than 20 people, mostly children. Residents claimed the monkeys tried to snatch the children.

"We have lost our dear deputy mayor," Aarti Mehra, the mayor of Delhi, told me shortly after ordering extra teams of monkey hunters. "This menace must stop."

Anybody who feeds the monkeys will be fined, she says, though more drastic action against the primates – culling, for instance – isn't really an option since the monkey is revered by the Hindu religion. The monkey God, Hanuman, represents strength.

To add insult to injury, monkeys have taken a liking to the main government buildings in Delhi, where on most days large troops of them can be seen scaling fences and roofs, sitting provocatively on top of signs reading "Government of India."  Several recently broke into the Defense Department, fleeing with confidential documents, which were found scattered over the streets.

They were even declared a security threat recently, amid dark murmurings of a possible Pakistan connection.

Some government ministries and foreign embassies have brought in langurs, which are lanky, aggressive monkeys that scare away those causing problems. The langurs patrol middle-class and diplomatic districts.

"We've had no problem since we deployed the langur wallah," one woman told me in the front yard of her large house, near the park where Masthri was working. "Before they would go to the roof and throw off the pots. They'd tear our clothes from the line. They'd sit on the gate and shake it. We couldn't go out. The kids couldn't play."

I can testify that the monkeys can be pretty scary. We filmed a stand- up, a clip of me talking to the camera in the park, as I strolled through a bunch of them on a path. As we finished, a pretty angry pair of monkeys confronted me, baring their teeth. I made a pretty rapid exit, with    Masthri urging me to avoid even looking at them. He told me that under no circumstance should you confront an angry monkey. Luckily that was the last thing on my mind.

Plenty of people believe monkeys are getting a bad rap and that the real problem is one of man, not monkey.

Delhi is a rapidly growing city. Urbanization is eating into the forest areas where the monkeys used to live. With so much of their habitat destroyed by man, they're heading to the city.

Animal rights activists claim the monkey catchers are making matters worse by splitting up families.

"They get aggressive when you split up a troop," according to Sonya Ghosh, an animal rights campaigner who is working with the government on the city's simian crackdown.

In the park, Masthri eventually got his first catch of the day, with the door of his cage crashing down behind a monkey that pushed its luck too far. It started thrashing around, shaking the cage. 

Outside, perhaps 20 others looked on from the trees and the edge of the path. One of them sat on a water tap, nonchalantly turning it on for a drink, then off again.

"They're getting clever," Masthri repeated. "We'll have to try a new area."

Of course, there are no shortages of areas, and the $11 bounty for each monkey gives him plenty of incentive. But a morning with the monkey hunters does leave you wondering whether the monkeys are not adapting better to the city than the city is to them.

Dec. 19: NBC's Janet Shamlian reports on America's charities feeling the pinch this holiday season. Click here to watch.

By Brian Williams, Anchor and managing editor

Although she left us for CNN, frequent viewers of this broadcast remember Campbell Brown fondly, as we all do.  Today's welcome bulletin has to do with Campbell and her husband Dan -- they have a magnificent new arrival, Eli James Senor, born just this morning.  We were thrilled to hear the news and wish our friends Campbell and Dan just the very best. 

Thanks to those of you who joined us for our political coverage on MSNBC today -- it was fun, as it always is, taking the reins for an hour at 1pm Eastern time. My day got compacted from there -- we're crashing on some stories for the top of the broadcast and I'm behind on writing, but Andy Franklin has penned a magnificent political piece below which deserves its own headline:

UNDER THE BIG TOP

The process of choosing a president has become a marathon in this country. All the major candidates declared their intentions months ago, and ever since they've been loudly and busily campaigning, debating, raising money, airing commercials, attacking their opponents, defending their records and positioning themselves for the contests to come. Those contests are now almost upon us: the Iowa caucuses are 16 days away, followed by the New Hampshire primary five days later. Michigan, Nevada, South Carolina and Florida follow in quick succession, leading up to February 5th (aka "Super-Duper Tuesday") when 20 -- count 'em -- 20 states have scheduled their contests. The nominations may be settled after all that, but if not, don't worry -- the primary season continues until early June. If things are still up in the air, we can count on the conventions to sort things out. The Democrats hold theirs in Denver in late August, followed by the Republicans in St. Paul in early September. By then we'll finally have just two candidates -- or maybe three, if there's an independent in the race. That's when things get serious -- not that things aren't very serious now, of course. Between the conventions and the election, we'll have about ten weeks of flat-out campaigning, not to mention flat-out campaign coverage. Then, on November 4th, 46 weeks from today, there will be an election. At long last, we'll have a new president. Except we wont; that doesn't actually happen until Inauguration Day, eleven weeks later. At which point the 2012 campaign will begin.

All this has even the most rabid political junkies wondering if perhaps there is a better way. Something a little shorter, perhaps. Less messy, more efficient. No one can doubt that there is room for improvement in the way we choose our presidents. But before we get too crazy, let's also count our blessings. Anyone looking for a shorter, neater, more efficient process need look no further than Russia, our old arch-enemy, where President Vladimir Putin has made that country's fledgling democracy his own personal power source.

Putin became acting president of Russia eight years ago this month, when his predecessor Boris Yeltsin resigned. (They are the only two presidents Russia has ever had). He's been elected twice since, and according to Russia's constitution (adopted in 1993), he cannot run for re-election. But that is apparently no obstacle for Vladimir Putin. Back in October, he floated the idea that he might consider becoming prime minister of Russia after stepping down as president. He let that idea sink in for a while, and then suggested last week that a close aide of his -- Dmitri Medvedev -- succeed him as president. By all accounts, Medvedev -- who has never held elective office -- is entirely the political creation of his patron Putin, and has no power base of his own. Once anointed, Medvedev did not disappoint; he said having Putin as his prime minister was a swell idea. After letting that sink in for a while, Putin said yesterday that yes, he'd be delighted to take the job.

Russia's presidential election is March 2nd, though we're not likely to see any cable-news countdown clocks as that date approaches. Medvedev is a virtual shoo-in, and since his party -- and Putin's -- controls Russia's parliament, they can then pretty much make the prime minister's job -- soon to be Putin's job -- as powerful as they want it to be. (It's now a mostly administrative and relatively powerless position). It's even been speculated that, once elected, Medvedev could step down as president and let his boss have his old job back. Very tidy, but more dictatorial than democratic, and probably not what the framers of Russia's constitution had in mind.   We do things differently in this country. It's true, the process here is far from perfect -- it is noisy, dirty, expensive and endless. It often seems to attract the wrong people, and repel the right ones. It can seem like a circus, when a circus is the last thing we need. But it's also worth remembering what Winston Churchill himself said 60 years ago: "Many forms of government have been tried, and will be tried in this world of sin and woe. No one pretends that democracy is perfect or all-wise. Indeed, it has been said that democracy is the worst form of government except all those other forms that have been tried from time to time."

Or as American parents used to tell their disaffected baby-boomer children back in the days of the Cold War, "If you don't like it here, maybe you'd rather go live in Russia."