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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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Crazy day around here folks, but what's new? Chris is back in town and things are
heating up in Washington, despite residual snow and ice on the ground...Lott continues
to have the worst week of his life, as the Hotline notes....The Post is reporting that
Al Qaeda has smuggled VX nerve gas...Mik is shooting the story down though...Plus, The
New York Times is reporting Gore will not run in '04...
Bush on Lott: "Any suggestion that a segregated past was acceptable or positive is
offensive and it is wrong...Recent comments by Sen. Lott do not reflect the spirit of
our country" http://msnbc.com/news/845511.asp
We'll hit the Lott stuff hard tonight and McCain will be the lead off
batter...Question: Should Lott resign his leadership post? Also, Is the mea culpa tour
working?
Howard Fineman will give us the "inside the Oval Office" perspective
http://msnbc.com/news/846630.asp?0cv=CA01
Plus, Kentucky Republican congresswoman Anne Northup is calling for Lott to step
aside...She'll tell us why...Then we'll bring in Fund and either Coulter or Buchanan
to play defense...The calls are still out...
In the back half we ask the question: Can Lott recover when so many others have not?
We'll put the question to Republican strategist/Wash U. (St. Louis) grad Ed Rollins
and Jerry Nachman, MSNBC's editor-in-chief and host of the critically acclaimed MSNBC
5 pm et "must watch" hit show "Nachman."
http://www.msnbc.com/news/nachman_front.asp?0ct=-34i
In the buzz we'll talk to former Senator Bob Kerrey about Lott, Gore and maybe a few
other sugar plums...It'll be a hot show and worthy of your attention...Tonight, 9 pm
and midnight et...Only on MSNBC...
Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Hardball Briefing from Washington, DC
Gore Won't Run...In a notable shift of sentiment, several associates of former Vice
President Al Gore said today that they were becoming increasingly convinced that he
would not run for president in 2004 and would instead announce in early January that
he was stepping aside to allow a new face to challenge President Bush. (The New York
Times) http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/12/politics/campaigns/12GORE.html
Latest on the Lott "Mea Culpa" tour...
Lott Apologizes Anew for Remark...Senate Republican leader Trent Lott, under pressure
from his party, launched a new effort Wednesday to quell a growing controversy over
comments that implied support for past segregationist policies. (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42859-2002Dec11.html
Allies Rally Around Lott...As incoming Senate Majority Leader Trent Lott tried to put
the controversy to rest, his Senate GOP colleagues began to rally around the
Mississippi Republican, rebuking any calls for Lott to leave leadership and defending
his remarks at a party for Sen. Strom Thurmond (R-S.C.) (Roll Call)
http://www.rollcall.com/pages/news/00/2002/12/news1212c.html
Republican colleagues rallied around Trent Lott, the incoming Senate Majority Leader,
yesterday as he offered still another apology for remarks made in a tribute last week
at Sen. Strom Thurmond's 100th birthday party. (The Washington Times)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20021212-47206856.htm
Republican Sen. Jesse Helms defended Senate leader Trent Lott on Wednesday, saying his
remarks that have angered blacks were not intended to be harmful. (AP)
http://newsobserver.com/nc24hour/ncnews/story/2014977p-1949521c.html
Fund's Diary: Trent Lott is the GOP's weakest link
http://www.opinionjournal.com/diary/?id=110002756
While a young GOP congressional leader two decades ago, Trent Lott declared that
"racial discrimination does not always violate public policy" as he tried to save the
tax exemption of a Christian university that banned interracial dating. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=512&ncid=703&e=2&u=/ap/20021212/ap_on_go_co/lott_blacks
Mississippi Sen. Trent Lott was having trouble Wednesday assuaging civil rights and
social justice organizations after his comments during a 100th birthday party for
outgoing Sen. Strom Thurmond, R-N.C., that left critics saying he should resign his
post as majority leader (UPI) http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20021211-061406-4474r
Scrutiny of Lott's past reveals controversial associations (Clarion Ledger)
http://www.clarionledger.com/news/0212/12/m02b.html
Report Cites Al Qaeda Deal for Iraqi Gas...The Bush administration has received a
credible report that Islamic extremists affiliated with al Qaeda took possession of a
chemical weapon in Iraq last month or late in October, according to two officials
(The Washington Post) http://msnbc.com/news/846509.asp?0cv=CB10
White House Orders Plans to Debrief Iraqi Scientists...Aggressive Effort Aimed at
Accelerating Weapons Hunt (The Washington Post)
http://msnbc.com/news/846412.asp?0cv=CB10
Bush: Military to get smallpox shots...President Bush will order smallpox vaccinations
for military personnel and will launch a plan to inoculate emergency medical workers
and response teams within weeks, he said Wednesday.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/846424.asp
Smallpox: What you need to know...Answers on the risks, benefits of the vaccine
http://msnbc.com/news/819847.asp?0sl=-12
Former Democratic Rep. Lee Hamilton was chosen Wednesday for the No. 2 job on the
commission investigating intelligence failures before the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks,
after George Mitchell, the former Senate majority leader, suddenly stepped down (UPI)
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20021211-071255-9500r
Justice Clarence Thomas appeared to sway colleagues as they heard a case on whether a
state may make cross-burning a crime without trampling freedom of speech rights. (The
New York Times)
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=68&ncid=68&e=2&u=/nyt/20021212/ts_nyt/an_intense_attack_by_justice_thomas_on_cross_burning
President Bush is enacting by executive fiat key pieces of his divisive "faith-based
initiative," including one that lets federal contractors display religious favoritism
in their hiring. (AP)
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=544&ncid=703&e=1&u=/ap/20021212/ap_on_go_pr_wh/bush
Henry A. Kissinger, who will head an independent inquiry into the Sept. 11 attacks, is
not required to disclose his global business clients, the White House said.
http://www.nytimes.com/2002/12/12/politics/12DISC.html?todaysheadlines
The White House has told lawmakers that former Secretary of State Henry Kissinger,
President Bush's choice to head a commission investigating the Sept. 11 attacks, is
not required by law to disclose his business clients. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story2&cid=513&ncid=703&e=3&u=/ap/20021212/ap_on_go_ot/kissinger_commission
A Grand Old Party For Ehrlich...Inaugural Organizers Try to Raise $1 Million (The
Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42620-2002Dec11.html?referer=email
Emboldened by Sen. Mary Landrieu's (D-La.) win last week, Democrats are prepared to
prevent the Senate from organizing in January unless Republicans agree to near-equal
committee funding in the 108th Congress. (Roll Call)
http://www.rollcall.com/pages/news/00/2002/12/news1212a.html
Democratic National Committee Chairman Terry McAuliffe yesterday said Democrats
focused too narrowly during the election on issues such as a Medicare
prescription-drug benefit and Social Security, rather than delivering a coherent
economic message. (AP) http://washingtontimes.com/national/20021212-8445998.htm
Cherie Blair Takes Her Con Man Tale To British TV (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42833-2002Dec11.html?referer=email
Talking Points: The word from Chris Matthews
http://www.bostonphoenix.com/boston/news_features/this_just_in/documents/02583952.htm
Opinion/Editorial
Lott doesn't deserve to be Senate majority leader (Mississippi Press)
http://www.gulflive.com/mississippi/index.ssf?/xml/story.ssf/html_standard.xsl?/base/opinion/1039691715104290.xml
Buckley: To Preserve What We Have...Reflections on a half century in defense of
freedom http://www.opinionjournal.com/editorial/feature.html?id=110002757
Krauthammer: Trent Lott must resign as Senate majority leader.
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A42987-2002Dec11.html
Coulter: CBS could show Augusta how to really discriminatee
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/coulter.html
Arianna: White House Chutzpah...Remember how the Bush administration ambled
unassumingly into office -- downing Texas-sized helpings of humble pie at every meal?
http://www.ariannaonline.com/columns/files/121202.html
Virginia burning...Is cross-burning free speech or a threat of violence? Dahlia
Lithwick explores Wednesday's Supreme Court arguments on the issue.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/846310.asp
Will: Free agent for favorite sons
http://jewishworldreview.com/cols/will.html
AP: Conservatives Doubt Bush's Tax-Cut Zeal
http://www.philly.com/mld/philly/news/politics/4718341.htm
Novak: Picks for Bush economic team don't look like winners
http://www.suntimes.com/output/novak/cst-edt-novak12.html
Ivins on Kissinger: Good grief. I turn my back for 10 minutes, and they bring back the
old War Criminal.
http://www.dfw.com/mld/startelegram/news/columnists/molly_ivins/4722742.htm
Mallard Fillmore http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/mallard.asp
Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/
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