With permission and thanks, I am reposting this great diary written by Linda in SFNM, but fell off before it was seen by many, but apparently, by some.  And with thanks to Keith Olbermann for stating he will acknowledge the issues discussed in diaries, it seems fitting to repost and allow you all to see some of what he was reffering.Keith OlbermannLinda in SFNM

Rather shocked to hear Lawrence O’Donnell make such disparaging remarks last night against voters and John Edwards on Countdown with Keith Olbermann.  No, not that he hasn’t been displayed his condescending, nasty, mean and arrogant persona before, I just didn’t expect him to do it on TV.

I know he’s been pushing for Senator Obama for over a year.  I remember hearing him first declare that when he had a somewhat regular spot on Al Franken’s show.  But of late, this other character I had not seen previously has been coming to the surface.  Is this the all too familiar character trait we can come to expect from his supporters?

I've been reading this site for years and have never posted a diary.   However, I have found the 2008 Primaries to be such outstanding political theater that I can't resist giving my thoughts on a topic that hasn't been discussed enough.

We know all about Hillary Clinton's attempts to close "at large" caucus sites on the Las Vegas Strip.  Why would she attempt such a politically risky maneuver?  I think the answer gives some insight as to who is going to win the caucus on Saturday.

The biggest surprise of this campaign season?

For me, it's that John Kerry is proving to be a better surrogate than Bill Clinton.  

Today, John Kerry steps up for the right to vote.

And he's taking this show to Nevada.

Senator Kerry's words, below the fold.

The NYT is reporting this morning that

Nevada’s state teachers union and six Las Vegas area residents filed a lawsuit late Friday that could make it harder for many members of the state’s huge hotel workers union to vote in the hotly contested Jan. 19 Democratic caucus in Nevada.

The lawsuit challenges a decision last year to create at-large precincts inside nine Las Vegas resorts on caucus day. These precincts are critical for hotel workers to vote since the Nevada caucuses are at noon and workers cannot leave work to return to their home precincts to vote... (more under the fold)

Yeah, this is big.

Per the   New York Times:

Unite Here, the union representing more than 450,000 hotel, restaurant, apparel and laundry workers, is likely to announce its endorsement of Senator Barack Obama on Wednesday, a top union official said yesterday.

Transcript and video coming as soon as it gets out there.  But just now Timmay Russert reported in MSNBC that the culinary workers, the largest union in Nevada, will endorse Obama tomorrow.  If he wins NH today, this would certainly seem to put Nevada in his column too.

I know, conceptually, that this is a huge, huge endorsement for him, but I also never worked on the ground in Nevada, so I haven't seen the union in action.

So maybe Hillary can overcome it.  Any of you Vegas folk care to enlighten us?

Update:  Still no confirmation of the report, but googling around, it seems pretty clear there is a definite endorsement (of someone) coming tomorrow, and Clinton's team is pessimistic. Politico and WSJare the newest stories on the matter.

More updates after the jump....

While the national announced on Wednesday that it is waiting until after Iowa, the UNITE-HERE Midwest Region (which includes UNITE-HERE Michigan) has endorsed John Edwards for President.

Noel Beasley, manager of the Chicago and Midwest Regional Joint Board, saidof her membership:

Our members are emphatic in their support for Senator Edwards, and anxious to get involved.