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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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We've got some men down due to illness here in Hardball land so we've all had to pull
double production duty and Chris is in the middle of the fancy promo shoot for a new
commercial...You know one of those types where he's in the office doing the action
stuff: speaking authoritatively on the phone, typing on the computer, etc. etc...It
looks like a movie set in his office...Don't know when the ad will air but I'm sure
we'll all see it soon enough...
I beg your forgiveness for my lack of punctuality
Be that as it may, we lead with Gergen and Sen. Jay Rockefeller on the faulty
intelligence President Bush used in The State of the Union Speech...Chris was fired up
about it last night and he's fired up again today...Why didn't the White House
attribute a name to the statement it released? What did Cheney and his top aide
Scooter Libby know and when did they know it?
Here's the bit that's causing a general Beltway dyspepsia:
"Knowing all that we know now, the reference to Iraq's attempt to acquire uranium from
Africa should not have been included in the State of the Union speech" -White House
Statement
In the B Block we speak to the chief Diva of the Vast Right Wing Conspiracy, Ann
Coulter on Iraq, Liberia and who the latest treasonous soul is out there sabotaging
America...
And with all the latest news and rumblings from our buddy Saddam, the big question
remains...Do we need to catch/kill him for this war to have been a success? Inquiring
minds want to know....We debate it in D with Gaffney....
Luntzy will be in half the Buzz with that new Pew Research Poll on Bush, Iraq, the
Economy yada, yada, yada...
And for the final block....A bit of a palate cleanser...Fmr. CNN & Time Exec. Walter
Isaacson will be here to discuss his newest book, Benjamin Frankin: An American Life
as well as the state of the cable news business...I was in the studio when we pretaped
and I was quite impressed by Walt's enthusiasm for the subject matter and his
speculation as to what 'ol Ben might think of cable news...
Btw, I gotta give a shout out to Sam's Angels over at Crossfire for their little
Hillary/Tucker/shoe cake stunt today...Even Walter was impressed...He was watching it
with us....
Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Briefing from Washington, DC
Bush and Rumsfeld Defend Use of Prewar Intelligence on Iraq...Despite Use of False
Information, Bush Says He is 'Absolutely Confident' in His Actions (Wash Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A31709-2003Jul9.html?nav=hptop_tb&nav=hptop_tb
Bush Recantation Of Iraq Claim Stirs Calls for Probes (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29766-2003Jul8.html
In Africa, Bush vows he won't overextend troops...President Bush pledged Wednesday
that he will not overextend U.S. armed forces even if he sends troops to join a
peacekeeping force in the war-torn west African country of Liberia.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/935935.asp
Congressional leaders from both parties said yesterday that they want to hear a
"strong case" from the administration on committing troops to Liberia, including
answers about the number of troops and their mission, before they back any (The
Washinton Times) http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030709-121128-3034r.htm
Bush defends use of Iraq intelligence...Misstatement on uranium draws fire from
Democrats (AP) http://msnbc.com/news/936497.asp?0cv=CB10
Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld said on Wednesday the United States did not go to
war with Iraq because of dramatic new evidence of banned weapons but because it saw
existing information on Iraqi arms programs in a new light after the Sept. 11, 2001
attacks (Reuters)
http://www.reuters.com/newsArticle.jhtml?type=politicsNews&storyID=3061656
Confidence in Bush slips further...Support for President Bush is slipping on a wide
range of issues, but his Democratic rivals do not appear to be taking advantage, a new
poll showed Tuesday.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/936329.asp
9/11 Panel Concerned About Delay...Commission's Leaders Say Agencies Slow to Produce
Information (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29794-2003Jul8.html
The United States and the international community sat by for a decade as Afghanistan
became "a terrorist Disneyland" where attackers were trained and assaults were
planned, a terrorism expert testified Wednesday. (AP)
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-07-08-attacks-commission_x.htm
Dig Perle's comments in this one:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A30323-2003Jul9.html
Democratic presidential candidate Howard Dean is looking to expand his campaign
operations into several early primary states, an opportunity created by his successful
fund raising. (AP) http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/2003-07-08-dean_x.htm
Congress plans a flurry of votes this week for key spending bills that will be a test
of the Republican leadership's ability to keep to its legislative schedule and
restrain spending. (The Washington Times)
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20030708-110241-8036r.htm
Sabotage and a threadbare infrastructure, not bad U.S. planning, are to blame for
setbacks in the postwar reconstruction of Iraq, the Pentagon's top policy official
said (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=542&ncid=703&e=3&u=/ap/20030709/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/iraq_us_military
A federal appeals court yesterday rejected Vice President Cheney's bid to keep secret
all the workings of his energy task force, saying sufficient safeguards were already
in place to prevent the disclosure of genuinely privileged information. (The
Washington Post) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A29486-2003Jul8.html
Vice President Dick Cheney, who has had four heart attacks, got a clean bill of health
yesterday after his yearly physical exam. (NY Post)
http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/95.htm
Miami's top-rated talk show host told its listeners Tuesday that Congresswoman
Katherine Harris had died in a plane crash on Monday, according to the Web site at
news partner NBC6. (Sun Sentinel)
http://www.sun-sentinel.com/news/local/southflorida/sfl-78katharineharris,0,307496.story?coll=sfla-home-headlines
Opinion/Editorial
Terry: Oh no, Canada http://www.townhall.com/columnists/terencejeffrey/tj20030709.shtml
Confronting war's ugly aftermath...Our current trouble in Iraq is the result of a
peculiar combination in U.S. policy -- a daringly brilliant military plan, followed by
a daringly obtuse political one. Here's how to fix the problem. By Fred Kaplan.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/936232.asp
Ilana: Love-in at the borders http://www.wnd.com/news/article.asp?ARTICLE_ID=33484
Landfield: Is America Finally Ready For Same-Sex Marriage?
http://www.practicalpolitics.net/landfield/7_8_03.html
Cirignano: Counterpoint: In Defense of the Federal Marriage Amendment
http://www.practicalpolitics.net/cirignano/7_8_03.html
The Peter Principles: A Savage world
http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20030708-030605-2203r
Joe's Real Deal: What do you do when the chairman of your nonprofit board gets busted
for cooking the books at his corporation? If you have any sense or decency about you,
you show them the door. But some of America's biggest charities are turning a blind
eye to corporate crimes and playing fast and loose with your money. If you want to
know how, here's the Real Deal.
http://www.msnbc.com/news/936601.asp
Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/
Mallard http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/mallard.asp
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