When MSNBC attempted a few years back to be a liberal alternative to FOX News, putting Phil Donahue on the air, along with several other liberal pundits, bosses at the network were nervous. President Bush’s approval ratings were high, 9/11 was still fresh on everyone’s mind, and conservative TV talk, led by Bill O’Reilly, seemed to be the key to ratings gold.

Not surprisingly, the experiment fizzled after a short time; Donahue was dumped, and MSNBC went on to try to re-brand itself once again.

But now, as the country’s overall attitude has seemingly shifted, so, too, have the attitudes of a new set of bosses. Keith Olbermann, with his nightly commentaries belittling the sins of the White House, has gotten tons of attention. Ditto on Chris Matthews, whose biggest ratings as of late came after he belittled Dick Cheney during a recent book party. The network has swung so far to the left that the cable’s logo has literally turned green, as various hosts promote a “Green Is Universal” theme through the week via special reports on climate change and environmental issues.

“It happened naturally,” Phil Griffin, a senior vice president of NBC News who is the executive in charge of MSNBC, tells the NY Times. “There isn’t a dogma we’re putting through. There is a ‘Go for it.’”

And, now, comes word that Rosie O’Donnell may join MSNBC. If she can come to terms on a deal with the net, she will likely host the 9 p.m. slot each weeknight, which will put her up against CNN’s Larry King and FOX’s Sean Hannity.

Oh, what fun it would be to see Rosie’s antics every night with Olbermann as a lead-in. The duo couldn’t be more different than O’Reilly and Hannity. And, with Olbermann already pushing O’Reilly’s buttons on a nightly basis, the ensuing cable wars would surely heat up even more. And you thought Rosie versus Elizabeth Hasselbeck on The View was a scorcher!

But maybe we’re a little biased ourselves here. After all, we love a good fight.