------------------------------------------------------ The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC ------------------------------------------------------
Hardball airs tonight at 7p, 11p & 4a ET and 4p, 8p & 1a PT We'll get to the Briefing in a moment but first a programming note...It's not often we send Chris out on field which makes tomorrow's show very unique...We bring you a special segment from Walter Reed hospital where Chris visited with wounded troops back from Iraq...Chris tells us he was moved by the soldiers he met and is looking forward to sharing the experience...You'll not want to miss it... A couple editorial strings we're gathering today revolve around the 9/11 Commission hearings and the big DNC dinner...Dean endorsed Kerry today and the grand poohbahs of the party hold a big "unity" dinner with Clinton and Carter...Our own David Shuster will cover the dinner for us and we'll dip in and out of it throughout the show... The Democrats will also "unite" themselves with about $11 million big ones as a result of the dinner...Unfortunately not all Dems are in the Kumbaya spirit...Moseley-Braun and Kucinich will not be in attendance (not sure if it's a simple scheduling snafu or that Braun is holding out for another ambassadorship and Kucinich a Secretary of Peace appointment)...Fineman & Trippi will be at the dinner tonight so maybe they can sort it out for us.. We'll also show you the new ads released by BC04... On the 9/11 Commission issue, we'll talk to former SecDef under Clinton/Maine Senator William Cohen who testified the other day...He'll give us reax and tell us what it all means for President Bush, our understanding of 9/11 and the upcoming election...We also talk to 9/11 widow Kristen Breitweiser who will give us her thoughts on the hearings and if she feels satisfied with where the investigation is heading... And yes we were all at the big Correspondents dinner last night...Too many names to recount...Everyone was there...Although I was especially impressed to see Sam and Omarosa from The Apprentice but I wasn't about to jock them...Even "The Donald" showed up (Trump, not sure about Rummy)...The President had a funny comedic routine in the theme of a White House photo gallery although some were upset that he joked about not finding any Iraqi WMDs...Much of the fun was had of course at the post parties held by the big 3 major cable networks...MSNBC was the only one with the famous chocolate fountain, however (http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A62408-2004Mar16.html) Who really needs a dance floor & vodka bar anyway? It's actually funny watching stiff Washingtonians dance in their formal wear. We're not really into that kind of thing. Nonetheless, Washington's media/political establishment were doing there best to get their groove on. But the night was not without controversy...Kerry just issued a release on the President's WMD jokes: "If George Bush thinks his deceptive rationale for going to war is a laughing matter, then he's even more out of touch than we thought. Unfortunately for the President, this is not a joke. 585 American soldiers have been killed in Iraq in the last year, 3,354 have been wounded, and there's no end in sight." George Bush, Entertainer In Chief...At Radio-TV Dinner, President Competes With Trump's Show (The Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22713-2004Mar25.html Bush put on a slide show, calling it the "White House Election-Year Album" at the Radio and Television Correspondents' Association 60th annual dinner, showing himself and his staff in some decidedly unflattering poses. (AP) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4596717/ Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Briefing from Washington, DC President Bush, fearing political backlash over the loss of U.S. jobs, casts Democratic rival John Kerry as a tax-raising threat to the American economy in a new television commercial airing Thursday. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040325/D81HGGEG2.html Clarke: Government 'failed you'...President Bush's former counterterrorism adviser, the star witness at hearings into the Sept. 11, 2001, terrorist attacks, apologized to the families of the victims Wednesday, testifying that "your government failed you." http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4568982/ Milbank Analysis: Clarke stays cool under fire...Ex-Bush adviser not rattled by GOP attacks (MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4596317/ Fournier Analysis: Clarke hurts Bush on signature issue...Ex-official's accusations may have election impact http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4600713/ Panel: Confusion, Afghan 'proxies' hurt terror fight...Tenet, Berger insist U.S. heeded terror threat (MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4592469/ Transcript of committee interim report...Panel finds significant diplomatic efforts by Clinton http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4586448/ Kerry gets loud and clear Dean endorsement...Clinton, Carter joining Democratic day of unity (AP) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4580606/ Kurtz: Dean, Kerry 'Like Oil and Water'...Pollster Maslin Offers Postmortem of Vermonter's Campaign http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A22219-2004Mar24.html Former Presidents Bill Clinton and Jimmy Carter, along with a who's who of Democrats, will join the party's next nominee John Kerry on Thursday at a unity rally kicking off a massive fund-raising drive. (Reuters) http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml;jsessionid=WWW5NTL44RREACRBAEZSFEY?type=topNews&storyID=4660949§ion=news John Kerry celebrated his status as the leader of the Democratic Party on Thursday with shows of unity from former rivals, former presidents and others who are putting aside their differences to help him cast President Bush out of the White House. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040325/D81HGPDO0.html Bush set to whack Kerry on home turf...President Bush hits Kerry Country with rhetorical abandon today, hammering his Democratic rival for spending plans that ``don't add up.'' (The Boston Herald) http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=2957 President Bush, fearing political backlash over the loss of U.S. jobs, casts Democratic rival John Kerry as a tax-raising threat to the American economy in a new television commercial airing Thursday. (AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040325/D81HGGEG2.html President Bush's best campaign week of 2004 came to an abrupt end when explosive charges that he was snoozing at the wheel before 9/11 knocked the White House back on the defensive. (NY Daily News) http://www.nydailynews.com/front/story/177126p-154093c.html Bob Kerrey's star turn as a 9/11 commission member is sparking talk that he could join pal John Kerry on a 2004 Democratic ticket of Kerry-Kerrey. (NY Post) http://www.nypost.com/commentary/21808.htm The Supreme Court case over whether to keep a reference to God in the Pledge of Allegiance is the latest skirmish in the "culture wars" that are helping shape the presidential election, much to the delight of Republicans. (The Washington Times) http://www.washtimes.com/national/20040325-124959-4632r.htm Blair meets Gadhafi in Libya...British Prime Minister Tony Blair met with Libyan leader Moammar Gadhafi on Thursday in Libya, saying that the two shared a common goal in defeating the al-Qaida terrorist network. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4599489/ Pakistan al-Qaida hunt continues...More than 50 terrorists have been killed in Pakistan's military operation against suspected al-Qaida fighters and local sympathizers on the Afghan border, the interior minister said Thursday. http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/4539021/ Boston Mayor Thomas M. Menino has slapped a gag on the Boston Fire Department Acappella Quartet, banning the group from singing during tonight's visit to Boston by President Bush (The Boston Herald) http://news.bostonherald.com/localRegional/view.bg?articleid=2958 Imus called CBS's Lesley Stahl a "gutless, lying weasel" yesterday for abruptly canceling an interview during which Imus planned to hammer her about conflict-of-interest allegations. (NY Post) http://www.nypost.com/entertainment/21669.htm Opinion/Editorial USA Today: Bush team ready for this fight but would prefer not to have it http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20040325/6043004s.htm Peggy: Hearings Won't Make Us Safe...Sins of omission and the 9/11 commission. http://www.opinionjournal.com/columnists/pnoonan/?id=110004864 Rousseaux: Asteroids and Oorts http://www.techcentralstation.com/032504D.html Kaplan: Dick Clarke Is Telling the Truth...Why he's right about Bush's negligence on terrorism. http://slate.msn.com/id/2097750/ Mondo Washington: Further Dispatches From Planet Rummy...Secretary Strangelove Has Been Interested in Terrorism Since 1983 http://www.villagevoice.com/issues/0413/mondo5.php 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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