------------------------------------------------------ The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC ------------------------------------------------------
Hardball airs tonight at 7, 11 & 4 am et/4, 8 & 1 am pt on MSNBC Lots of big news tonight...From the just announced speech by CIA chief George Tenet tomorrow and the WMD investigation to a new Mass. high court ruling on gay marriage to figuring out what last night's election's results meant, we're all over it... We've got a panel of top political strategists including Tony Coehlo and Frank Donatelli to slice and dice today's political topography as well as a couple members of the House Intelligence Committee to discuss the "sexed up" intel on Iraq and what the Congress is gonna do about it.. A number of other guests are being "efforted" at this hour so stay tuned. The fruits of our work will be self evident at 7 pm ET... Pls join us and thank you all for staying up with us late last night. It was a real hoot and I think we broke some news with Dean in full "pooh-pooh" mode on Michigan...". Michigan, we don`t think we have a shot at winning, but we would like to pick up some delegates." Don't miss it tonight! Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Hardball Briefing from deep inside the Beltway.. It probably won't prompt his former boss to raise his fist and shout "Yeahhh!" but Howard Dean's ex-campaign manager, Joe Trippi, made is debut on Tuesday as a political analyst on MSNBC. (Reuters) http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20040204/tv_nm/media_msnbc_dc_5 Bob Novak, the pugnacious conservative pundit, may have to answer an assault charge in Manchester, N.H., stemming from an altercation with an activist on primary night last month. The dust-up ensued after Brad Carr, 54, who calls himself "an independent citizen" who's against the Bush administration, taunted Novak, 72, a host of CNN's "Crossfire," which was broadcasting live from a restaurant. (The Reliable Source) http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A10511-2004Feb3?language=printer John Kerry's chief rivals campaigned on the strength of their Southern roots Wednesday, all but ceding Democratic presidential nomination contests in Michigan and Washington state in favor of a showdown closer to home. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040204/D80GH8I02.html Dean rules out Michigan...Kerry's lead too big; Edwards gets boost (Detroit Free Press) http://www.freep.com/news/politics/cauc4_20040204.htm How will Edwards run against Kerry?...With Sen. John Edwards' win in South Carolina, a crucial questions now arises for the Edwards campaign: Are there significant differences between Edwards and front-runner Sen. John Kerry on the issues that Edwards could use as the lever to pry Democratic voters away from Kerry? http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4156095/ Exit polls: Economy, electability top voter concerns...Many voters in Democratic presidential contests around the country Tuesday said they thought the economy and jobs were the top issues in the campaign, according to NBC News exit polls. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4155532/ Anti-Bush sentiment driving Democrats to polls...Exit polls reveal that beating the president is prime issue (The Washington Post) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4159963/ Democratic presidential hopeful Wesley Clark, appearing energized Wednesday by his first election victory, questioned policy positions of his major rivals while focusing his campaign on the Tennessee primary next week. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040204/D80GIDP00.html The race for the Democratic presidential nomination shifts next to delegate-rich Michigan and Washington, where Howard Dean will be back in the ring and fighting to recapture the support and momentum he has lost in both states to John F. Kerry. (The Boston Globe) http://www.boston.com/news/politics/president/articles/2004/02/04/race_moves_on_to_mich_wash/ The Massachusetts high court ruled Wednesday that only full, equal marriage rights for gay couples - rather than civil unions - would be constitutional, erasing any doubts that the nation's first same-sex marriages would take place in the state beginning in mid-May. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040204/D80GI6504.html Film director Spike Lee criticized Janet Jackson's surprise breast-baring during the Super Bowl halftime show last weekend as a "new low" of attention-getting antics by entertainers. (AP) http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040204/ap_on_en_tv/super_bowl_jackson_43 Sharpton vows to continue campaign despite showing...The Rev. Al Sharpton may not have clinched the South Carolina Democratic primary yesterday, but he said he has invigorated black voters, one of the key goals of his campaign. (The Washington Times) http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20040204-123037-1944r.htm Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld said Wednesday he is not ready to conclude that Iraq did not have weapons of mass destruction before U.S. troops invaded to depose him last year. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040204/D80GHKNO0.html President Bush's decision to appoint a commission on Iraq intelligence was intended to take pressure off a potentially explosive political issue. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040204/D80GHDC00.html National Security Advisor Condoleezza Rice has agreed to be interviewed by the bipartisan 9/11 commission on Feb. 7, after weeks of resistance from the White House to the bipartisan panel's requests, The Observer has learned. (NY Observer) http://www2.observer.com/observer/pages/frontpage1.asp Senate grapples with toxin attack...Investigators are attempting to determine whether letters containing ricin found in mail facilities that serve the White House and a South Carolina airport could be connected to mail that carried the deadly poison into a Senate office. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4143594/ Investigators intensified efforts Wednesday to identify the letter or parcel that brought ricin to a Senate mailroom and to determine whether the incident is linked to the deadly poison found last fall in letters at mail facilities serving the White House and a South Carolina airport. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040204/D80GH1R80.html Halliburton to repay $27.4 million...Reimbursement represents possible overcharges (The Washington Post) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4157304/ Pierce: Retired Army Gen. Wesley Clark's only son blasted the news media yesterday for its coverage of his father's bid for the Democratic presidential nomination. http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/inpolitics.htm Opinion/Editorial Quinn: Judy Dean Didn't Apply For This Job http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A7031-2004Feb2.html McGovern: A Campaign Fiasco That Wasn't http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A10795-2004Feb3.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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