------------------------------------------------------ The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC ------------------------------------------------------
Hardball airs tonight at 7, 11 & 4 am et and 4, 8 & 1 am pt on MSNBC The big buzz inside the Beltway this week is of course Paul O'Neill's bombshell tell all book about the Bush administration (as written by Ron Suskind)...We'll talk to Robert Reich, Clinton's former Labor Secretary... Also, Campaign gurus Mike Murphy (who drives a fancy sports car with the license plate "go neg" meaning "Go negative in your campaign ads") and Tony Coehlo, former head of the DCCC (Democratic Congressional Campaign Committee) in the '80's...Widely credited with turning the corporate world into the cash cow for the Dems and bringing muscle into the House Dem caucus in the '80's...He was also Gore's campaign chairman in 2000...Coehlo also used to sometimes sleep outside at night to bring notice to the plight of the homeless... They'll do the latest political campaign stuff in Iowa.... There's also news on the Michael Jackson front. His top dogs were meeting at a posh Beverly Hills hotel to pour over his finances...We'll talk to Linda Fairstein, a legal type who knows about sex crimes... Plus Terry Jefrey will kick it in the Buzz...He's fired up and will discuss his experience running Pat's '96 insurgent campaign... New Mortman content...Politicians sink their teeth into your diet...Big battles of 2004 may center on the dinner table http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3940177/ O'Neill denies spilling secrets...Ex-Treasury Secretary: Documents came from department counsel (MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3925358/ White House fires back at O'Neill on Iraq...Accused of trying to justify 'personal views' (The Washington Post) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3941719/ Dean extends lead in Iowa poll...Former Vt. governor has 5-point lead over Gephardt (Reuters) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3945850/ Dean Goes on Offensive in Iowa...Democrat 'Tired of Being a Pincushion' (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11415-2004Jan12.html A combative Howard Dean said he's tired of being "the pincushion" as he lashed out at rivals and tried to recoup from a stumble over race that has raised new questions about his campaign. (NY Post) http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/15608.htm Dean defends record on hiring minorities...Ex-governor led a state that was 96 percent white (The Washington Post) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3942222/ Former Gov. Jeanne Shaheen, the national chairwoman of John Kerry's campaign, renewed criticism Monday of Wesley Clark's praise for the Bush administration two years ago (AP) http://www.theunionleader.com/articles_showa.html?article=31520 Democratic presidential candidate Wesley Clark said Monday a statement he made in 2002 about connections between Iraq and al-Qaida was consistent with his belief that Saddam Hussein was not linked to the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks. (AP) http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040112/ap_on_el_pr/clark_iraq_4 Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton plans to focus this year on improving health care, beginning with a proposal designed to modernize the sharing of medical information nationwide. (AP) http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20040112/ap_on_re_us/clinton_health_care_1 Edwards banking on populist charisma...As Monday's Iowa caucuses approach, Sen. John Edwards' campaign - buoyed by an endorsement from the state's biggest newspaper - is carefully trying to keep expectations within bounds. MSNBC's Tom Curry reports. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3941728/ By accident or design, Sen. John Edwards of North Carolina seems to be pursuing an "Avis strategy" in Iowa's Democratic presidential caucus -- to be No. 2. (Atlant Journal Constitution) http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/0104/13edwards.html D.C. residents go to the polls today in a Democratic presidential primary that is the first of the 2004 campaign. (The Washington Times) http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20040112-115314-2164r.htm Michael Jackson's inner circle met at a posh Beverly Hills hotel Monday to examine the entertainer's business affairs, four days before his first court appearance on child molestation charges. (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A11584-2004Jan12.html Fox backs immigration plan...Questioned by leaders of Canada and some Latin American nations at the Americas Summit being held here, President Bush was having a hard time selling the idea of a free trade pact for all the Americas. http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3920890/ The public is evenly split on President Bush's plan to build a space station on the moon and eventually send astronauts to Mars, according to an Associated Press poll. http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040113/D801PN300.html Former Rep. Cynthia McKinney, D-Ga., an early opponent of the Iraq war, will run again, the Atlanta Journal-Constitution reported Monday. (UPI) http://washingtontimes.com/upi-breaking/20040112-045344-4456r.htm Opinion/Editorial Terry: Dean's Big Business Bias http://humaneventsonline.com/article.php?id=2767&PHPSESSID=181fa80e4ba45fba33381301c221aa05 Katrina: So, we're destroying our own way of life on earth but Bush wants to establish a permanent base on the moon as a prelude to sending humans to Mars? http://www.thenation.com/edcut/index.mhtml?bid=7&pid=1174 Former Treasury Secretary Paul O'Neill, pushed out of the administration 13 months ago, is lashing out in a new book and says President Bush was so disengaged in meetings that he was like a "blind man in a roomful of deaf people." http://msnbc.msn.com/id/3920145/ 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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