------------------------------------------------------ The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC ------------------------------------------------------
Hardball airs tonight on MSNBC at 7p, 11p & 4a ET & 4p, 8p & 1a PT Find MSNBC on your TV http://www.msnbc.com/CableOperator.asp MSNBC also is on your XM satellite radio on channel 130 Another one of those "break out the popcorn and TV tray" nights custom made for MSNBC's Hardball...Chris is fired up of course and will be doing hits on the network all day slicin' and dicin' the selection of Edwards as Kerry's running mate...Plus, we've got a special 9-10 pm ET special on Edwards... At 7 pm ET we'll talk to Andrea Mitchell who was actually first to break the news at 7 am ET on Today (Edwards didn't get the official call until 7:30)...She'll lead the show with Howard, who is in Pittsburgh where Kerry held a huge rally to make the announcement...Gore's former campaign manager, Democratic Diva & the author of her new autobiography "Cooking with Grease", Donna Brazile will join Chris as will RNC chairman Ed Gillespie... Later at 9 pm ET, Chris anchors an hour long special on Edwards and what he brings to the ticket...We're still putting out our booking calls for that show but you can expect it to be truly "must see" TV...We'll definitely have folks from both campaigns throwing out the early spin... All of this is subject to change of course at a moment's notice as news breaks and we change up the show in order to bring you the best possible lineup... A few things to note at this hour -Republicans are spinning Edwards as Kerry's "second choice." McCain being the first -BC04 has released an ad featuring McCain endorsing Bush...The title? "First Choice" -The DNC and its allies are sending out press e-mails highlighting past divisions between McCain & Bush -The RNC has released an extensive opposition research file on Edwards at kerrypicksedwards.com -Kerry & Edwards are not expected to appear in public today -We do expect a new Kerry/Edwards ad to be released some time today -Cheney called Edwards this morning to congratulate him and to tell him he looks forward to a spirited debate -Today is President Bush's 58th birthday And this exclusive from David Shuster you won't find anywhere else.. "For the Shuster family, July 4 was celebrated in true Indiana style with all of the trappings one might associate with a political "red state." The family's political leanings shall remain undisclosed... but voters of all stripes would have appreciated our unique and entertaining fireworks display. My cousin and I rigged various fireworks to a couple of remote controlled boats... put the boats on the pond... and recreated, for our family's amusement, the battle of midway. Definitely don't try this in states with tight liability laws. My uncontrollable boat fired awfully close to the perplexed captain (me.) Then, the ship caught fire and sank to the bottom. My cousin's boat survived and became the launching pad for remaining bottle rockets, fountains, and other assorted devices. Those things that shoot the parachute soldiers were very cool... it was almost as if we were witnessing a "water rescue mission." Ah... Indiana in July... nothing beats it. Today, I'm putting away the pyromaniacal tendencies and going back to political reporting. Tonight, team Shuster is kicking off the 7pm show with a closer look at John Edwards. We will run the money sound byte from Kerry... then show a few clips of Edwards... including a recent diatribe over Abu Graib. Also, the decision to pick Edwards was apparently made so last minute that some kerry staffers thought the selection was going to be Florida Senator Bob Graham. The campaign even had Kerry/Graham signs at the rally... we've got the video... and a separate pkg for the 9pm special on the strengths and weaknesses of each ticket." More headlines below...Pls stay with MSNBC all night as we cover this developing story... Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Briefing from Washington, DC Democratic presidential candidate John Kerry selected former rival John Edwards to be his running mate, calling him a man "who has shown guts and determination and political skills in his own race for the presidency of the United States." (AP) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5365307/ Kerry e-mail to supporters on Edwards...VP pick 'understands and defends the values of America' http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5376845 Kerry informed his staff of his choice Monday at about 10:30 p.m. (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A30354-2004Jul6?language=printer Edwards on the issues: (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30640-2004Jul6.html Edwards gives ticket Southern ID...The only Democrats to win the presidency in the past 40 years have been Southerners. If John Kerry wins on Nov. 2, he'll break that streak, but with a boost from a son of Dixie, his newly-chosen running mate, North Carolina Sen. John Edwards. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5086822/ RNC Release: Who is John Edwards?: A Disingenuous, Unaccomplished Liberal And Friend To Personal Injury Trial Lawyers http://www.gop.com/RNCResearch/Read.aspx?id=4345 John Edwards is a multimillionaire trial lawyer and a freshman U.S. senator from North Carolina who was considered a rising political star as soon as he arrived in Washington five years ago. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040706/D83LAI1O0.html John Edwards is a multimillionaire former trial lawyer with wide-ranging investments in mutual funds, stocks of major American corporations, and bonds of North Carolina educational and governmental organizations, according to the North Carolina senator's financial disclosure statement. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040706/D83LB9300.html President Bush's re-election campaign will launch a television ad featuring former Republican rival John McCain and titled "First Choice," an effort to paint Democrat John Kerry's running mate as his second choice. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040706/D83LACUO1.html N.Y. Post jumps the gun on Kerry V.P. choice...Tuesday's front page reports that Gephardt got the nod http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5377014/ 3 U.S. Marines killed in Iraq...Three U.S. Marines assigned to the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force were killed while on duty in Western Iraq, the military said in a statement Tuesday. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5322157/ Family: Marine has been freed...The family of a Lebanese-born U.S. Marine held hostage in Iraq said it was confident Cpl. Wassef Ali Hassoun had been freed and was well, though relatives have not heard directly from him, his brother said Tuesday. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5310187/ Blair says Iraqi WMD may never be found...But British leader insists Saddam posed threat to world (AP) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5376978/ Security intensifies for political conventions...Events in N.Y., Boston seen as terror targets (The Washington Post) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5372901/ Exercising a new passion, President Bush spent the day before his 58th birthday riding his mountain bike on the grounds of a Secret Service training facility near Washington. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040705/D83KP5H83.html Supporters of traditional marriage in Michigan yesterday turned in some 475,000 signatures - far more than the 317,000 needed - to put a state constitutional amendment before the voters in November. (The Washington Times) http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040706-124307-5308r.htm Opinion/Editorial Schlafly: To celebrate independence, we must have sovereignty http://www.townhall.com/columnists/phyllisschlafly/ps20040705.shtml Pat: Let Europe Fend for Itself: http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=39276 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 Microsoft Corporation - One Microsoft Way - Redmond, WA 98052 MSN PRIVACY STATEMENT http://privacy.msn.com