Just how crazy is the race for president on the Democratic side this year? So crazy that Rhode Island matters. Always overlooked and under appreciated, little old Rhode Island is suddenly getting big love:

Calling New York Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton a "world-class change maker," former President Bill Clinton offered a passionate case for his wife's presidential campaign yesterday before students and admirers at Bryant University.

"No state in America has been better for me or our family," Clinton said of Rhode Island. "I have tried to be there for you. I hope on March 4, you'll be there for her."

That's laying it on a bit thick, even for Bubba.

Clinton is favored to win in Rhode Island, but Obama has a local connection that is making them extra nervous: Michelle Obama's brother, Craig Robinson, is the head men's basketball coach at Brown University.