------------------------------------------------------ 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 Tonight we zero in on the battleground state of Ohio as well as the labor vote...To that end we talk to Ohio Secretary of State Ken Blackwell (R) about what it will take for either candidate to win...As a Republican Blackwell will be most interested in a Bush formula for victory, I suppose...On the labor front we talk to Teamsters honcho James Hoffa, Jr. about his Union's effort to get out the vote for Kerry... David Shuster does a tick tock on "explosives" back and forth between Kerry & Bush http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A4709-2004Oct28.html Frank Rich from the New York Times and Stephen Hayes from The Weekly Standard stop by to give us their take on the horserace and we'll also get an update from battleground Florida... Pls join us... And here's something fun and entertaining for you on election day... MSNBC TV and MSNBC.com are relying on you to help report this election. With such a tight race and so much controversy, accuracy and speed are critical to good coverage. Find out how to be a Citizen Journalist: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6348977/ Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Briefing from deep inside the beltway... Blackwell backgrounders In Fierce Contest for Ohio Vote, Secretary of State Feels Scrutiny (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A448-2004Oct26?language=printer A U.S. District Court judge yesterday effectively ended efforts by Republicans in Ohio to challenge the eligibility of tens of thousands of voters in one of the most closely contested states in this year's presidential race. (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A3731-2004Oct27?language=printer Curry: On the trail with Kerry: Battling for Iowa...Shifting news shows minute-to-minute nature of race's final days http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6350261/ With 5 days left, attacks getting more personal...Bush rips Kerry for lack of consistency; Democrat says rival ducks all blame (AP) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6351451/ Democratic challenger John Kerry turned President Bush's own words into a weapon on Thursday and said it was the Republican incumbent who had jumped to conclusions in Iraq, disqualifying him from being commander in chief. (Reuters) http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=4GWFLJL1XFPVWCRBAEZSFFA?type=topNews&storyID=6647999 Latest Polls http://www.realclearpolitics.com/polls.html Vice President Dick Cheney said Thursday that John Kerry had gotten the facts wrong in criticizing the Bush administration for the disappearance of several hundred tons of explosives in Iraq. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20041028/D860I1C82.html Sen. John Edwards, blaming President Bush for a missing cache of explosives in Iraq, said Thursday that "our men and women in uniform did their job, George Bush didn't do his job." (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20041028/D860HR5O2.html Policing is aggressive at Bush events...To some, protesters' arrests recall Vietnam War era (The Washington Post) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6348890/ Terrorists lying in wait to attack. Planes falling from the sky. Ships blowing up. The candidates in the race for president are painting some scary scenarios to motivate voters. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20041028/D860IB382.html Peter Roff's Analysis: The U.S. House in play? Maybe http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20041027-025101-8273r Some missing...Florida ballots will be resent, Hundreds of absentee voters called to complain (AP) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6346293/ Count Sen. John Kerry of Massachusetts among those Boston baseball fans who have waited a lifetime to see the Red Sox win the World Series. President Bush says he's excited, too. (AP) http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=694&u=/ap/20041028/ap_on_el_pr/candidates_red_sox_1&printer=1 U.S. steps up pressure on Fallujah, Ramadi...Insurgents dig in for expected offensive; GI killed in Baghdad (MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6316493/ Gertz: Russian special forces troops moved many of Saddam Hussein's weapons and related goods out of Iraq and into Syria in the weeks before the March 2003 U.S. military operation, The Washington Times has learned. http://washingtontimes.com/national/20041028-122637-6257r.htm A grisly video released Thursday showed militants killing 11 Iraqi troops held hostage for days, beheading one, then shooting the others execution-style. Another group released a video of a kidnapped Polish woman, demanding Warsaw pull its troops from Iraq. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20041028/D860HQKG0.html Arafat said to be very ill; exact cause unknown...Palestinian officials say leader will receive treatment abroad (MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6329315/ Taiwan's government on Thursday applauded U.S. Secretary of State Colin Powell's decision to back away from his earlier controversial claim that both China and Taiwan favor unification. (AP) http://hosted.ap.org/dynamic/stories/T/TAIWAN_US_CHINA?SITE=DCTMS&SECTION=HOME Powell's Comments in China Rile Taiwan...In Apparently Unintended Remarks, Secretary Says Island Is Not Independent (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A1564-2004Oct27?language=printer Editor: Leaks Hastened Report on Missing Explosives (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A3493-2004Oct27.html Playing the numbers: The poll bowl...Your guy leading? Don't count on it (MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/6338051/ Hearing & talks in O'Reilly case...A legal faceoff in the Bill O'Reilly sex harassment scandal was slated for tomorrow even as the two sides were deep in settlement talks. (NY Daily News) http://www.nydailynews.com/news/story/246919p-211508c.html Opinion/Editorial Slate: A Consumer's Guide to the Polls...Read the ingredients before you buy. http://slate.msn.com/id/2108778/ Pat: Kerry on judges: 'No pro-lifers need apply!' http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=41127 Shafer: Al-Qaqaa Hits the Fan...The New York Times scoop raises as many questions as it answers. http://slate.com/id/2108771/ Doonebury 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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