Daily Show correspondent Aasif Mandvi's recent trip to Tallahassee, where he asked a number of state legislators to pee in a cup while working on a story about Florida's drug testing of welfare recipients finally hit the airwaves last night.

And, as expected, it made the Sunshine State look like a haven for hypocrisy and hysterically uninformed conservatism.

There was great footage of Mandvi asking Gov. Rick Scott to pee in a cup during a press conference -- look for Tampa Bay Times Tallahassee bureau chief Steve Bosquet's pricelessly shocked expression as the Tampa-raised correspondent makes his bizarre request (I don't think he knew who Mandvi was). There was also great clips from the Times outlining the cost of the drug testing program, which has resulted in taxpayers footing an extra $200,000 toward tests which just 2 percent of welfare recipients failed.

The whole program seems a perfect example of ideology trumping the facts or common sense. Scott may believe that drug use is more common among welfare recipients than the general public, but academic studies indicate lawmakers continually overestimate the amount of drug use among welfare recipients.

A 2004 study cited by the National Poverty Center estimated 21 percent of welfare recipients had used an illegal drug sometime in the past year -- exclude marijuana and the percentage drops to 10 percent and just 4 percent used drugs often enough to significantly impair their lives. Seems to me that steering recipients with drug programs into treatment would make more sense that cutting them loose, but that doesn't look as good on a campaign bumper sticker.

Mandvi didn't show attorney general Pam Bondi, who provided a cup of apple juice, or other legislators who supposedly participated.

But in showing Rep. Scott Plakon, supporter of the drug testing bill, stating that recipients of public money should submit to a test before refusing to submit himself, the Daily Show made its point loud and clear.

Given reality TV's love for the Tampa Bay area and the fact that auditions were held in Tampa in November, you might predict that NBC's America's Got Talent would come back to the Sunshine State for auditions with the show's celebrity judges.

And you would be right: The network announced today that it will bring auditions to the Mahaffey Theater in St. Petersburg April 3 and 4, featuring celebrity judges Howard Stern, Howie Mandel, and Sharon Osbourne along with host Nick Cannon.

Turns out, tickets are free for anyone age 14 or over; click here to order some.

For the first time in the show's history, America's Got Talent sent producers to the Tampa Convention Center for auditions in November, courting contestants for the show's seventh season.

Click here to see photo from the Tampa auditions.

As an added bonus, the St. Petersburg audience will get a look at shock jock Stern, a new judge who joined the show after British star Piers Morgan dropped out to devote more time to his CNN talk show. ... Read more

Elton John.

That might be the only person who can save Simon Cowell's talent show The X Factor now, amid news that the former American Idol star has fired almost everyone who appeared on camera with him during the show's inaugural season.

Yup, judge Nicole Scherzinger, host Steve Jones and Cowell's pal Paula Abdul are all out the door in a housecleaning aimed at juicing a show widely viewed as a disappointment by fans and industry watchers.

Abdul said on Twitter Tuesday that she saw the hook coming, as all sides released statements trying to but the best spin on a brutal course correction. She tweeted: "I have absolute understanding of the situation. Simon [Cowell] is, and will remain a dear friend of mine and I've treasured my experience working this past season."

Given Idol's wobbly ratings this year, it's entirely possible that X Factor's biggest problem is viewers' fatigue with singing shows (we'll learn that for sure when NBC's The Voice comes back to new episodes next week).

But whatever fatigue affecting fans surely wasn't helped by Jones' uncomfortable delivery, Scherzinger's oddly self-centered actions and Abdul's surprising lack of chemistry with fellow Idol refugee, Cowell.

Now the question emerges, big as Cowell's oversize ego: Who should the show hire next?

John, a blockbuster pop star Idol tried hiring before settling on Steven Tyler and J. Lo., is a dream hire who would add instant buzz and credibility. Which is probably why he won't do it.

But who else could fill the impossibly pretty shoes of Jones and Co.?

Mariah Carey -- Top contender to fill the crazy diva slot abandoned by Abdul. But could she handle the pressure of live judging?

Madonna - There's a question whether her and Cowell's egos could fit in the same arena. But the dueling British accents would be priceless.

Harry Connick, Jr. - Since his star turn as performer and mentor on Idol a few years ago, his name comes up constantly for music judging gigs. But Cowell likely wouldn't present a panel with three men -- especially one who is better-looking and more talented than the guys already there (snap!)

Ryan Seacrest - Yeah, it's a long shot, but he can probably fit in X Factor between taking over NBC's Today show and revitalizing Mark Cuban's little-seen HD Net channel.

Regis Philbin -- I hear his schedule has opened up.

Who would you suggest? ... Read more

TAMPA -- Dan Rather leaned back in a chair at the Marriott Waterside Tuesday morning, already in a suit and ready to begin a day of analyzing Florida's GOP primary election returns for a host of media outlets and his own live show on HD Net.

"Florida, arguably, is the most important swing state in the country," said the former CBS News anchor, placing the Sunshine State on his short list of five most important states for the presidential election going forward. "And it's a true swing state -- which is to say, sometimes it goes Democratic, sometimes it goes Republican...It's hard to imagine a successful scenario for any candidate which doesn't go through Florida...(and) at this time -- underscore that, all caps -- I think Obama's a slight underdog to the Republicans."

Rather will repeat those observations for local and national TV news outlets over the course of the day, raising awareness for his work on upstart channel HD Net (soon to be rebranded AXS TV), while sharing experience covering elections reaching back to the days of John F. Kennedy and Richard Nixon.

And he's not alone. National news outlets have descended on the Tampa Bay area full force, with CNN cameras perched on a balcony at WFLA-Ch. 8's headquarters overlooking the Hillsborough River, while Fox News Channel anchor Brett Baier is expected to call election returns from Tampa.

The morning news shows featured a succession of Florida officials, from former Gov. Charlie Crist and U.S. Sen. Marco Rubio to Adam Putnam, speaking for the Romney campaign. (experts must be in short supply; I've even gotten calls from the BBC, a Chicago radio station and U.S. reporters for Fuji TV in Japan.)

As many have said, Florida is the first primary which comes close to looking like the rest of the country, held in a sprawling state where person-to-person politics counts for much less and the deluge of TV ads funded by Romney and Gingrich count for much more.

According to Media Life magazine, Tampa area TV stations are expecting $40-million in political ad spending over the course of 2012, just in the presidential and U.S. Senate races. A large portion of that haul, $23-million, is expected in the fourth quarter close to the general election.

Small wonder WFLA brought back its 11 a.m. newscast in January, while WTSP-Ch. 10 added a half hour to its 9 a.m. newscast. Political advertisers prefer to slot their commercials in newscasts, when more potential voters are expected to be watching; expanding news hours gives more potential slots for political ads even as local reporters scramble to cover the campaigns as they touch down locally.

Most news outlets are planning live coverage of the returns in Florida, from the cable newschannels to NPR and even Current TV (curiously, that channel's Chief News Officer, Keith Olbermann, will not be anchoring; onetime CNN host Bill Press will lead election coverage instead, flanked by another ex-CNN-er, former New York Gov. Eliot Spitzer.)

In Tampa, Rather sees an opportunity to present live programming on a channel currently under revamping by owner Mark Cuban.  Over the summer, HD Net is expected to be rebranded as AXS TV, a home for concerts and live events in a partnership with American Idol host Ryan Seacrest, the talent agency representing Seacrest CAA and concert promoter A.E.G.

The 80-year-old anchor has always seemed an odd fit for a channel courting young men with programs featuring mixed martial arts fights and the Bikini Barbershop series. But Rather said Cuban is committed to his Dan Rather Reports program -- it helps in schmoozing cable systems to carry the channel -- while asking that he step up with more live events, including election coverage.

"We don't want to be live for live's sake -- we want to bring added value," said the anchor, who hosts a live broadcast from Tampa at 7 tonight featuring National Journal reporter, Matthew Cooper, GOP strategist Todd Harris, and Democratic strategist and former adviser to Hillary Clinton, Catherine "Kiki" McLean. "This has the potential to be a $3-billion election. We're going to ask who is paying all that money, and what they will expect for their money once the election is done." ... Read more