The Horse Race: Today’s New Hampshire Republican primary is a desperate race for second place. With Donald Trump clearly in the lead, Marco Rubio, and Ted Cruz are in a virtual tie for number two. One poll shows John Kasich second, but Chris Christie is a firm sixth.

All of the above, including Jeb! Bush, need to show improvement or they are likely to have to fold soon. Second place would be a win and the fight is for a huge block of undecided voters.

It’s nasty. Bush on Twitter called Trump a loser, a liar, and a whiner. Christie is attacking Marco Rubio for sticking to his canned talking points while Rubio sticks to his canned talking points.

For the Democrats, Hillary Clinton has rolled out her attack dogs, accusing Bernie Sanders of indirectly taking Wall Street money.

Making a higher calling, Sanders said, “What people will be asking is not just who wins, but whether the people of New Hampshire are prepared to lead this country in a political revolution, whether the people of New Hampshire are prepared to stand up to the billionaire class.”

Listening to all the noise former New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg told the Financial Times he’s seriously considering running as an independent. He said, “I find the level of discourse and discussion distressingly banal and an outrage and an insult to the voters.”

Early Vote: The results from Dixville Notch; John Kasich, 3, Donald Trump, 2, Bernie Sanders, 4, Hillary Clinton, zero.

Outbreak: President Obama plans to ask Congress for $1.8 billion in emergency funding to fight the Zika virus, which has spread to 26 countries and foreign territories, although not yet to the US. The money would go to mosquito control and vaccine research.

World: Two trains collided head on in the German state of Bavaria today, killing at least nine people and derailing both trains. Both engineers were killed and so far there’s no explanation for the accident.

Oil Shock: The US stock market and markets around the world slipped again yesterday on the further skid in oil prices.

While it makes driving inexpensive, and frees billions of dollars for other purposes, cheap oil has a whole list of countries dependent upon oil headed toward financial trouble; Iraq, Venezuela, Nigeria, and more. Iran entered the international nuclear negotiations thinking it would cash in on $100 a barrel oil, and now it’s less than $30. Tim Arango points out in the NY Times that eight million Iraqis depend on government salaries at a cost of $4 billion a month, while oil income has shrunk to $3 billion a month. And this while they are fighting the Islamic State.

The Obit Page: Artur Fischer, a German inventor who made the first synchronized camera flash and held more that 1,100 patents, has died at 96 in Germany. Photographers were still using flash powder when Fischer found a better way. He also invented the drywall anchor, solving the vexing problem of how to make a screw hold in a plaster wall.

Teapot Tempests: Feminist standard-bearer Gloria Steinem is taking crap for telling comedian Bill Maher that young women are joining up with Bernie Sanders because, “When you’re young, you’re thinking ‘Where are the boys?’ The boys are with Bernie.”

Steinem has been joined in the penalty box by former ambassador Madeleine Albright, who said at an appearance with Hillary Clinton that, just remember, there’s a special place in hell for women who don’t help each other.” There seems to be also a special place in hell for women who speak their mind.

And finally, the cable wags chewed over whether Beyoncé’s Super Bowl halftime performance was too political and inappropriate for the big game. Her routine was an homage to black power and the Black Lives Matter movement, backed by a dance troupe dressed reminiscent of the 1960s Black Panthers. But Bey is no fool. What better moment for a political statement than when 112 million people are watching. As opposed to, say, a Republican debate on a Saturday night in New Hampshire.

-30-