------------------------------------------------------ The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC ------------------------------------------------------
Hardball airs at 7 pm, 11p & 4a ET & 4p, 8p & 1a PT We're rollin' tonight on a heavy foreign policy tip with a little Pat thrown in to do some old school Nixon era reminiscing...We lead with fmr. chief UN weapons inspector guy Hans Blix who's shopping a new book and background on the lead up to the Iraq war. What did he know and when did he know it? And what's the story on his claim that Bush administration officials tried to "vilify" and "crucify" him...He's also has some juicy things to say about Dick Cheney and other memoirs of dealing with the big boys in the Bush administration....You know Chris will definitely be on fire for this one... Then we'll get reax and perspective from another fmr. weapons inspector dude turned NBC News analyst turned weapons inspector dude turned NBC News analyst, David Kay... At the half hour we'll drop some serious gravitas on you with New York Times columnist Thomas Friedman on the Spanish elections, Iraq and John Kerry's claim that several foreign leaders privately want Kerry to beat Bush...Yesterday, Colin Powell lashed out at that assertion...We've got the tape cut and ready roll...Whether Chris will "take the bite" is anyone's guess...We'll get Friedman's take on it all... And here's the really cool segment...Pat Buchanan will discuss his time in the Nixon White House when John Kerry was a nuisance to them as an anti-war activist and Nixon was deliberating on how do deal with Kerry's rising popularity and agitation...Pat will give us an exclusive look at a 1971 memo he wrote to then chief of staff H.R. Haldeman on Kerry... Pls join us tonight... Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Hardball Briefing from Washington, DC 2 U.S. soldiers killed in Iraq...A roadside bomb in Saddam Hussein's hometown killed two American soldiers and wounded four Saturday. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4448093/ Spain vows to pull troops from Iraq...Spain on Monday began looking towards a new government -- one that has promised to pull Spanish troops out of Iraq in July -- after voters ousted the ruling party Sunday. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4522638/ President Bush on Monday congratulated Spain's newly elected Socialist prime minister who ousted the Spanish leadership that had supported Bush in the Iraq war. (Reuters) http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=43TG5D051CPSICRBAE0CFEY?type=politicsNews&storyID=4571044 Blix backgrounder: Arms and the Man...A memoir of the U.N.'s search for WMDs in Iraq. (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A49753-2004Mar11?language=printer Kerry defensive on 'foreign leaders' claim...Powell doubts claim that Bush administration lost friends (AP) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4531796/ Like some before him, Kerry snared by large boasts...Secretary of State Colin L. Powell yesterday challenged Sen. John Kerry, the likely Democratic nominee, to identify the foreign leaders who he says want to see him elected president. (The Washington Times) http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040315-122457-7534r.htm The United States has no evidence now that al-Qaida was behind the railway bombings in Spain, Bush administration officials said Sunday. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040314/D81ADQF80.html President Bush, hoping to move Pennsylvania to his win column in this year's election, is reaching out to voters in the state by touting record home ownership in America - a bright spot in the economy. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040315/D81AS4QG0.html Candidates narrow focus to 18 states...The election-night mapmakers created an indelible image of political America in 2000: red states for Republicans, blue states for Democrats, and a handful of states, crowned by disputed Florida, that remained competitive until the very end. Campaign 2004 begins where 2000 left off. (The Washington Post) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4529049/ Balz Analysis: For Bush, new role, different script...Reelection campaign notable for defensive tone http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4523624/ Raising the Volume...It's only March, but it feels like September on the campaign trail. A TIME guide to the suddenly fast and loud presidential race http://www.time.com/time/election2004/article/0,18471,600858,00.html Bush administration officials continue to hold out hope that weapons of mass destruction stockpiles will be found in Iraq. But even if they're not, they say, the war to topple Saddam Hussein was still worthwhile. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040315/D81AQRRG0.html W's attack dogs bite back...On the eve of the one-year anniversary of the first bombs in Baghdad, President Bush's inner circle hit back in a coordinated attack at political opponents who hope to use the war against him. (NY Daily News) http://www.nydailynews.com/news/politics/story/173657p-151319c.html The Rev. Al Sharpton will discuss ending his failing presidential campaign with representatives of Democratic nominee John Kerry as soon as today, party insiders told The Post. (NY Post) http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/20830.htm U.S. gas prices at record high...Prices for all grades of gasoline rose 1.34 cents in the last two weeks to a record high nationwide average of $1.77 a gallon, according to a study released Sunday. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4527281/ "Analyzating" Bush's Grey Matter...The President's tendency to mangle words and syntax may be due to an undiagnosed language and hearing disability, say some experts (Business Week) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4514404/ Osama bin Laden has escaped capture in Afghanistan several times and may be linked in some way to the Madrid train attacks that killed 200 people, France's chief of defense staff said Monday. (Reuters) http://news.myway.com/top/article/id/391205|top|03-15-2004::07:53|reutershtml Bill Clinton is pushing the South Beach Diet: What's the skinny on Bill Clinton? When he was President, back in the last century, Clinton was notorious for his gigantic appetites - whether for chocolate-chip cookies or other ill-advised indulgences - and he tended toward the chunky. http://www.nydailynews.com/news/gossip/story/173541p-151251c.html Opinion/Editorial Chris Ingram: Democracy for Sudan: Recently, I had the opportunity to visit Sudan on behalf of the International Republican Institute and the U.S. State Department in order to help train leaders of the emerging democracy with their party governance and communications. http://www.washtimes.com/commentary/20040312-090117-1206r.htm Pat: Defining Kerry downward: Will George W. Bush share the fate of his father and be turned out of office 18 months after having won a military triumph that vaulted him to 90 percent approval? http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=37581 Novak: Wounds of 2000 never healed for McCain http://www.suntimes.com/output/novak/cst-edt-novak151.html Mike Barnicle: I've always admired news photographers. Over three decades, I've been fortunate enough to work with some great ones, and I've always believed that the power of pictures in a paper provides a reader with a permanence that TV cannot match http://www.nydailynews.com/news/col/mbarnicle/ Fund on the Trail: The Vanishing Center...In both political parties, the defense of moderation is no virtue. http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110004821 Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/ ========================================= This email is never sent unsolicited. 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