What’s up with Jack?

Previously on “24” (8 p.m., Fox), we discovered that an incompetent president has been snookered by an internal cabal of hardliners bent on planting weapons of mass destruction in a foreign terror base. They want to create a phony pretext for a U.S. invasion and the establishment of military bases that will guarantee the flow of oil for the next generation.

You don’t need a magnifying glass to find the metaphors and messages here. Michael Moore could not have written a more scathing and conspiracy-laden take on the current administration and its neo-conservative brain trust.

And this isn’t just any show; this is “24,” home to Jack Bauer, a man of action and a hero to many on the political right. Don’t take my word for it. Pat Buchanan’s Jan. 23 column, titled “What Would Jack Bauer Do?” was filled with praise for the show, its main character and unbridled glee at his “Dirty Harry” take on due process. I’ve heard guests and callers to Rush Limbaugh’s radio show praise “24.” Political blogs and TV sites are filled with laudatory comments about Bauer’s kick-butt attitude.

So it should be interesting to see how this latest storyline changes the tone and story on “24,” as well as the political perception of the show.

Yes, this is just a TV series and Bauer is a fictional character. But so was “Murphy Brown,” and that didn’t stop her from becoming one of the more memorable campaign issues of 1992.

In 1968, Lyndon Johnson was chagrined when Walter Cronkite turned against the Vietnam War on his nightly news broadcast. He reportedly told an aide, “If I’ve lost Walter Cronkite, I’ve lost Middle America.”

I’m not sure whether President Bush watches “24,” but it seems he may have just lost Jack Bauer.

¢ “American Experience” (8 p.m., PBS) re-examines the legend of “Jesse James.” Popularized in his time and after his death as a Robin Hood of the Wild West, James was in fact a homicidal psychopath who committed atrocities in the post-Civil War era and who shot many an unarmed victim in cold blood.

A neat and tidy one-hour film, “Jesse James” does a good job of setting the story straight and providing historical context.

¢ Raven-Symone (“That’s So Raven”) stars in “For One Night” (8 p.m., Lifetime), a fact-based cable drama about a high-school senior’s attempts to integrate her high-school prom in a small Louisiana town. It is set in the present day. Aisha Tyler co-stars as a disgruntled journalist who stumbles upon the story while visiting her folks on the anniversary of her brother’s death. Her character’s interaction with her passive-aggressive parents adds an emotional depth and complexity often lacking in message dramas.

¢ Deborah Gibson plays host to “100 Greatest Teen Stars” (8 p.m., VH1, nightly through Thursday), a five-hour countdown of favorites from “Gidget” to “One Tree Hill.” I’d like to know how many of these stars were already in their 20s when they started playing teens. Luke Perry would have to host that countdown.

Tonight’s other highlights

¢ Barbershops are popping up all over cable. Hot on the heels of MTV’s “The Shop,” here comes “Cutting Edge” (6 p.m., Cinemax), a documentary glance at a Harlem hair salon, home to frank discussions.

¢ Two hours is too much of “The Bachelor: Paris” (8 p.m., ABC).

¢ Horatio’s old foe issues new threats on “CSI: Miami” (9 p.m., CBS).

¢ A slip in the tub leaves Allison with impaired visions on “Medium” (9 p.m., NBC).