Countdown to...Oct. 15?

NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd, appearing tonight on Countdown with Keith Olbermann, predicted that the 20-month election campaign will come to an early end.

"Because there's so much early voting in this country, where the race is on October 15 is where it's going to be," said Todd.

Approximately half the states allow for some form of early voting, according to the National Conference of State Legislatures. Still, it should be noted that Virgina, New Hampshire, and Ohio are conspicuously absent from that list.

Any predictions on where Intrade will be on Oct. 15?

March Madness for Politics

If you, like us, had an even harder time with your NCAA basketball bracket this year than you did with your Palm Beach Butterfly Ballot, MSNBC is offering a way to redeem yourself: A new interactive feature on their website allows you to play pundit and predict John McCain's running mate from a field of 32 contenders.

Even more enticing than the Republican Veepstakes itself is the scintillating, Sports Center-esque commentary from political reporter David Gregory and political director Chuck Todd that accompanies the contest. Here are some highlights on how they're handicapping the first round:

Sarah Palin v. Rob Portman:
David Gregory - "I'm going to go for Portman here - a former leader in the House, southern Ohio, strong conservative, young, dynamic, future of the party. I think he's a very attractive candidate to be a number two."

Chuck Todd - "I tell you Sarah Palin - she's a mother, five children, just gave birth, sitting governor of Alaska. Conservatives love her. Don't be surprised if she's got some grassroots movement."
Meg Whitman v. Kay Bailey Hutchison
David Gregory - "Kay Bailey Hutchison has been around a long time. Too establishment I think. Meg Whitman, on the new economy, could sure up a real potential weakness for McCain in a year when this could be issue #1 that people vote on."

Lindsey Graham v. Bobby Jindal
Chuck Todd - "Bobby Jindal - When you can biologically be McCain's grandson, it might not be the right pick."

Mike Huckabee v. J.C. Watts Chuck Todd - "Mike Huckabee could do well in something like this. His voters still seem to be fairly energized about him."

David Gregory - "J.C. Watts - Does he pick an African American to try to balance out Obama? It's a little cynical to reach for someone who doesn't necessarily have the national following just because he's black."

While many of the pairings are thought-provoking, several of the seedings seem strange. How Jeb Bush secured a #2 seed in a year when the Bush name is poisonous in politics defies reason. Condoleeza Rice, who has repeatedly denied any interest in the number 2 slot, also somehow wound up with a #2 seed. Clearly the bracketologists behind the Republican Veepstakes weren't looking at Intrade, where Condi has been trading at around 4.5 for the Republican VP nomination.

Take a look at the screen shot of our picks and chime in with your own in the comments.

iPredict...The Start Of A Trend

MSNBC recently launched its own online political prediction market at MSNBC.com Even after commuting Scooter Libby's sentence yesterday, participants still think President Bush will soon let Scooter skate scott free. Still, even if Bush pushes a full pardon, he is much less likely to fill another Supreme Court vacancy, at least according to the wisdom of the MSNBC crowd.

The cable network isn't the first news organization to announce its foray into political futures. Earlier this year, The Financial Times partnered with Intrade.com to create a fake-money trading game called FTPredict,where users compete for prizes by predicting the 2008 presidential nominees. The Chicago Sun-Times and ABC-KGO San Francisco have both launched prediction markets to track a variety of current events and, as noted here previously, Slate is pooling political prediction market results in the run-up to the 2008 election.

Which media organization will be next? Let the predictions begin!