------------------------------------------------------ The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC ------------------------------------------------------
Not sure if you got a chance to check out Chris on MSNBC this morning with Alex Witt but he was positively "en fuego" on Iraq...A number of you have already been sending in e-mails about the appearance...He's really pumped up today and I suspect that will continue on through the show tonight...It's becoming increasingly clear, at least in my mind, that Chris is the biggest media figure expressing a healthy skepticism about war with Iraq... The Big story comes from The New York Times today and we'll devote the majority of the show to it...The Bush administration published today its first comprehensive rationale for shifting American military strategy toward pre-emptive action against hostile states and terrorist groups developing weapons of mass destruction. The strategy document also states, for the first time, that the United States will never allow its military supremacy to be challenged the way it was during the cold war. (NY Times) http://nytimes.com/2002/09/20/international/20CND-STRA.html Reuters update: The United States should maintain forever its global military superiority and defeat terrorism by "destroying the threat before it reaches our borders," the Bush administration said on Friday in a new strategy document http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=politicsnews&StoryID=1476323 We'll slice and dice the new doctrine with an All Star Panel: Ex CIA chief James Woolsey, Presidential Historian Doug Brinkley, Middle East expert Shibley Telhami and Congressman Nick Rahall... And tommorow night is the big Miss America Pageant in Jersey...Is it out of touch? Is it demeaning to women? We'll get into tonight with Sari Locker, sex educator and author of "Sari Says"...She doesn't like the Pageant...We'll ask her why And the Buzz looks like Barnicle and a GOP Pollster Dave Winston...More Bush and Iraq stuff there... Erratum: Soiree vs. Suarez...Yes, I said "Suarez" and clearly I meant "Soiree"...Here's the confusion...My boys, Led Zeppelin, have a song titled "South Bound Suarez" in which Plant pronounces "Suarez" like "Soiree"...Thanks to a loyal New Hampshire reader who spotted this... Also, I'd like to revive the old Hotline style reception reviews...Beltway insiders know of what I speak...If you go to a good political reception, anyway in the country and would like to write a briefing paragraph on the food and/or political chatter, I'd love to put it out there... Folks, I'm sorry this is so late and not up to typical snuff but all of the sudden we had some last minute guest change ups and other typical hectic stuff...Peace out...Bellone PS Thanks for all the shout outs in Minneapolis...My colleague Rani Brand told me she talked to a number of you...Appreciate it.. Hussein Denies U.S. Weapons Allegations...Iraqi President Saddam Hussein declared Thursday that his country "is clear of all nuclear, chemical and biological weapons" and urged the United Nations to resist the Bush administration's campaign to obtain U.N. backing for a military strike against his government. (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41742-2002Sep19.html President Bush on Friday failed to get Russia's support for his strategy against Iraq, hearing from Russian President Vladimir Putin that dispatching U.N. inspectors - not a U.N. threat of military action - should be the next step in dealing with Baghdad. (MSNBC) http://msnbc.com/news/805226.asp My dark brown hair is rolled, teased and pinned into what can only be described as a hood ornament, a lacquered bouffant that's part Lady Bird Johnson, part Bride of Frankenstein. (USA Today) http://www.usatoday.com/life/2002-09-19-1acov-miss-america_x.htm When the Miss America contestants parade down the runway this weekend, they will represent a broad cross-section of America in a competition that has never been a model of inclusiveness. (AP) http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20020916/ap_en_tv/multicultural_miss_america_4 Fun Clinton News... Page Six: Bill's blondes befuddle News...The Daily News has linked Bill Clinton to three different "unidentified" blond women since Sunday, even though there is no mystery as to any of their identities. And supermarket mogul John Catsimatidis, husband of one of the "flaxen-haired bunch," as the News put it, is not amused. http://www.nypost.com/seven/09182002/gossip/pagesix.htm Is Gore a Go?...Maybe not. Inquiring minds are starting to wonder whether Al Gore is really going to take the presidential plunge again. Let the most recent unvarnished speculation begin. (Kurtz) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43177-2002Sep20.html Gertz: U.S. eyes pilot with ties to al Qaeda...U.S. intelligence agencies are looking for a missing Sudanese air force pilot who is said to be planning to hijack an airliner and fly it into the White House. http://washingtontimes.com/national/20020920-69517531.htm The CIA had information about three of the Sept. 11 hijackers at least 20 months before the attacks occurred but failed to pass the information on to other agencies, a congressional investigator said on Friday. (Reuters) http://www.reuters.com/news_article.jhtml?type=topnews&StoryID=1475797 As Congress promised a quick vote on using military force against Iraq, President Bush on Friday pressed a campaign to swing Russia behind the tough American stance against President Saddam Hussein . (AP) http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&ncid=716&e=1&u=/ap/20020920/ap_on_go_pr_wh/us_iraq Bush Delivers Iraq Resolution...President Asks Unlimited Power To Act Without Further Requests (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41939-2002Sep19.html Milbank Analysis: Persistence pays off for Bush...As President Bush sent his proposed Iraq attack resolution to Capitol Hill on Thursday, his rout of congressional Democrats was virtually complete. The opposition party had all but resigned itself to passing the resolution with the wording Bush desired on http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/810419.asp Israel destroys most of Arafat's HQ...Israel reduced to rubble most of the remaining buildings on Palestinian leader Yasser Arafat's West Bank compound on Friday, using powerful explosives to raze at least three structures a day after a suicide bomber struck at the heart of Tel Aviv. http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/801833.asp Is war on Iraq inevitable?...Remaining scenarios for avoiding a violent conflict in the Persian Gulf (CS Monitor) http://csmonitor.com/2002/0920/p01s01-uspo.html A group of 19 House Democrats yesterday pledged to build a congressional coalition to oppose a U.S. military attack on Iraq. (The Washington Times) http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020920-347297.htm Scarborough: U.S. military planners are focusing on February as the optimum time to begin a war against Iraq, and they would rely greatly on defecting Iraqi units to topple Saddam Hussein, according to senior defense officials. http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020920-92651744.htm Bush Speech Wins Over the Foreign Press (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A41059-2002Sep19.html Bush Sr. says son has strength for war...The presidential burdens of a possible war with Iraq are the same now as they were in 1990, former President George Bush said Thursday in Sioux Falls. (Argus Leader) http://www.argusleader.com/news/Fridayfeature.shtml Some top Missouri Democrats are worried that Sen. Jean Carnahan's campaign is not "running at full throttle," giving Republican Jim Talent the momentum in an already close contest. (Kansas City Star) http://www.kansascity.com/mld/kansascitystar/4111235.htm No Gov. Schwarzenegger - Yet...Arnold says he can only focus on one thing at a time. And right now, his focus is on raising money for California schools and blowing things up as the Terminator, not on a write-in campaign for governor. (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A43793-2002Sep20.html U.S. Senate campaign debate goes to nation...Allard, Strickland to face off Sunday on 'Meet the Press' (Rocky Mountain News) http://www.rockymountainnews.com/drmn/election/article/0,1299,DRMN_36_1428488,00.html Harper On Media: CNN has refused to air a pair of 30-second announcements from two Jewish groups, citing a company policy that prohibits it from broadcasting "advocacy ads" about countries in conflict. http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20020920-5627940.htm Diller deal slows Vivendi spinoffs...Vivendi Universal SA's efforts to reduce its heavy debt load are being hamstrung by a complex deal struck 10 months ago by then-Chairman Jean-Marie Messier with Barry Diller, the veteran entertainment executive. http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/810487.asp Sneed dishes on Chelsea and Hill in today's "Tipsville" http://www.suntimes.com/output/sneed/cst-nws-sneed20.html Opinion/Editorial Very Amusing: Deliver us from evil...Of all the explanations for Sept. 11, 2001, and the subsequent alleged war on terrorism, the least illuminating is that it's all about evil, writes Slate's Michael Kinsley. http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/810112.asp Bibi: The Case for Toppling Saddam...The longer America waits, the more dangerous he becomes. http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110002303 Winston: Bullish on uncertainty http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20020920-82603632.htm The Washington Times: Bush: We must act now...It would be difficult to imagine a more harmful, obstructionist approach that plays right into Saddam's hands than that being taken by the United Nations. http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20020920-751808.htm Peggy: Hippocratic Oafs...Muslims demand sensitivity. They ought to show some too. http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110002297 Lithwick: Free Speech 101...Wartime censorship is alive and well and living on campus. http://slate.msn.com/default.aspx?id=2071214 The Washington Times: Daschle's tirade...During a 35-minute temper tantrum staged on the Senate floor, Senate Majority Leader Tom Daschle described the administration's economic policies as "tragic, deplorable, abysmal." http://www.washtimes.com/op-ed/20020920-45012448.htm Mallard Fillmore http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/mallard.asp Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/ ========================================= This email is never sent unsolicited. You have received The Hardball Briefing Newsletter because you subscribed to it or, someone forwarded it to you. To remove yourself from the list (or to add yourself to the list if this message was forwarded to you) simply go to http://www.msnbc.com/tools/newstools/e/emailextra.asp?nfeature=19