------------------------------------------------------ The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC ------------------------------------------------------
Hardball airs tonight at 7, 11 & 4 am et/4, 8 & 1 am pt... In our ongoing Battle For The White House series, retired General Wesley Clark takes the stage at Harvard's Kennedy School of Government to face the "Matthews Primary"...We'll hit all the hot topics and maybe throw in a curve ball or two...Does he have what it takes to bring regime change to 1600 Pennsylvania Ave.? We'll find out out tonight...Don't miss it... Marissa Buchanan, MSNBC's Clark "embed" provides this snappy backgrounder http://www.msnbc.com/news/1001231.asp Democrat Wesley Clark, focusing his presidential campaign on domestic issues, said Sunday he has plans to raise family income by $3,000 a year and provide health coverage to 30 million more people. (AP) http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031208/ap_on_el_pr/clark_6 Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Briefing from Washington, DC A memo written by a top Washington lobbyist for the controversial Iraqi National Congress raises new questions about the role Vice President Dick Cheney's office played in the run-up to the war in Iraq. (Newsweek) http://www.msnbc.com/news/1002223.asp Calling it "the greatest advance in health care coverage for America's seniors since the founding of Medicare," President Bush on Monday signed into law a $400 billion overhaul. In doing so, the president checked off another priority amid questions about the law's fiscal wisdom. (AP) http://www.msnbc.com/news/1002622.asp U.S. Solider Killed in Iraq While Guarding Gas Station...Sunday, Roadside Bomb Kills 1 Solider, Wounds 2 (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A45638-2003Dec8.html U.S. regrets Afghan children's deaths...U.S. officials offered their regrets Sunday and said they were "deeply saddened" by the deaths of nine children in a raid on an Afghan village. http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/1002011.asp As the current frontrunner in the race for the Democratic presidential nomination, Howard Dean, the former Vermont governor and the only physician in the field of candidates, has been clear about his support for abortion rights, but adamant that he never performed an abortion himself. (CNS.news) http://www.cnsnews.com/ViewPolitics.asp?Page=\Politics\archive\200312\POL20031208a.html Curry: Dean airs ad blitz in key states...If pattern over six elections holds, Dean's financial clout will lead to his winning the Democratic nomination http://msnbc.com/news/1002716.asp?0cv=CB10 Democratic presidential candidate Al Sharpton busted some James Brown moves on his "Saturday Night Live" debut, but many viewers didn't get the chance to see them. (AP) http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/entertainment/7438026.htm Democrats' ads attack Bush tax cuts...Major presidential candidates take calculated risk (The Washington Post) http://www.msnbc.com/news/1002607.asp?0sl=-12 U.S. troops north of Baghdad seized $1.9 million in cash and false identification documents in a raid targeting a suspected financier of insurgents, the U.S. military said Monday. Meanwhile, a U.S. soldier was killed in a drive-by shooting in northern Iraq. (MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.com/news/870749.asp?0dm=N14ON Dissent in the Bunker...Newt Gingrich, a quiet Rumsfeld confidant, thinks the U.S. went 'off a cliff' in Iraq. A NEWSWEEK exclusive http://www.msnbc.com/news/1002188.asp?0cv=KB10 Former House speaker Newt Gingrich said yesterday that the Bush administration has gone "off a cliff" in postwar Iraq and that "the White House has to get a grip on this." (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44036-2003Dec7.html Actor and longtime conservationist Robert Redford criticized the Bush administration's energy legislation, calling it one of the worst bills he's seen in his lifetime. (AP) http://www.rgj.com/news/stories/html/2003/12/07/58545.php?sp1=rgj&sp2=News&sp3=Local+News&sp5=RGJ.com&sp6=news&sp7=local_news Bin Laden's Iraq Plans...At a secret meeting, bin Laden's reps give bad news to the Taliban: Qaeda fighters are shifting to a new front (Newsweek) http://www.msnbc.com/news/1002197.asp?0cv=KB10 Campaign 2004: Looking for Skeletons...The attack season has begun. The oppo squads are busy scrubbing their files-to figure out what's in Howard Dean's closet (Newsweek) http://www.msnbc.com/news/1002289.asp?0cv=KB10 Pork hidden in big budget bill...Critics say the $373 billion measure is packed with pork-barrel projects at a time Congress should be worried about soaring budget deficits. (AP) http://www.msnbc.com/news/1002064.asp John Kerry used profane language to assess President Bush's Iraq policy, and Bush's chief of staff said Sunday the Democratic presidential candidate was out of line. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20031208/D7VA9A8G0.html Lieberman Versus Hollywood...Attack on the entertainment industry resounds in Conn. senator's quest. (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A44110-2003Dec7.html It was a long time in the making, but word is former President Bill Clinton will be in San Francisco for a final get-out-the-vote pep talk Monday for Democratic mayoral candidate Gavin Newsom. (Matier & Ross) http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2003/12/07/BAG9F3H59635.DTL Opinion/Editorial Fineman: Dean Stumbles Over Sealed Records...Is Howard Dean ready for prime time? I'm not so sure after watching him handle--if that is the word--the issue that has taken possession of his campaign this week: the 10-year seal he placed on the records of his 12-year tenure as governor of Vermont. http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/1000747.asp Pat: Re-election year is shaping up as positively for George W. Bush as it did for LBJ in 1964 and Richard Nixon in 1972. http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=36008 Barnicle http://www.nydailynews.com/news/ideas_opinions/story/143393p-126965c.html 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. 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