------------------------------------------------------ The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC ------------------------------------------------------ Tonight, Gov. Bill Richardson (D-NM) plays Hardball. Earlier this week, Richardson brokered a 60-day ceasefire in Darfur between the Sudan government and rebel factions (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/01/10/AR2007011002093.html) - what would the governor do about Iraq if he was in the White House? And the Democrats are heading to his part of the country for their 2008 national convention in Denver. Are presidential plans in Richardson's future?
Then, Rep. Joe Sestak (D-PA), the highest ranking military officer to serve in the House, and Rep. Dan Lungren (R-CA) join Chris to talk about the battle brewing in the House over the president's plan for Iraq. Will Democrats in Congress be willing to turn their fighting words into action? DNC Chairman Howard Dean talks to Chris about what his party can do to stop the troop surge. And the Dems go West for their convention next year, but what direction does the party take in the meantime? It's a dark afternoon in Washington but things are heating up in '08 politics - Sen. Hillary Clinton (D-NY) and a Congressional delegation head to Iraq (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16594901) and Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) announces today he's standing by Bush (http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16596330/). We'll dig in with MSNBC Political Analyst and Newsweek's Chief Political Correspondent Howard Fineman, Time's Mike Allen and Chris Cillizza from washingtonpost.com. Read Cillizza's "The Fix" here: http://blog.washingtonpost.com/thefix/?nav=left, and the latest from Fineman here: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16408125/site/newsweek/. Plus, GOP Strategist Frank Luntz helped craft the "Contract with America" Republicans used to win back the House in 1994. Tonight, the author of "Words That Work" rates the president's words from Wednesday. Read Luntz's OpEd in today's LA Times on wartime linguistics: http://www.latimes.com/news/opinion/la-oe-luntz12jan12,0,69016.story?coll=la-opinion-center and go to www.politics.msnbc.com for the latest on all the day's political news. Stories you may have missed today: -- Newsweek's Mike Isikoff and Mark Hosenball on "Bush's Best Democratic Buddy": http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16585614/site/newsweek/ -- Clock ticking on 100-hour agenda for Congress, AP reports: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16593256/ -- AP: CA Congressman will no longer employ his fundraiser wife: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16596330/ -- Today's HotSoup: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/16596330/ -- MSNBC's Political Calendar: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14708421/ -- NBC's First Read: http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/ Shelby Poduch compiled the Hardball Briefing from Washington, D.C. ========================================= This e-mail is never sent unsolicited. You have received this The Hardball Briefing Newsletter 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.msn.com/id/7140407/, select unsubscribe, enter the email address receiving this message, and click the Go button. Microsoft Corporation - One Microsoft Way - Redmond, WA 98052 MSN PRIVACY STATEMENT http://privacy.msn.com <http://privacy.msn.com/>