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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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Hardball airs on MSNBC at 7, 11 & 2 am et and 4, 8 & 11 pm pst...
We lead with the explosive Rummy Memo on the war on terror and his admission to his
top deputies that things ain't going so well...Far from the tough guy, macho image the
Washington press corps loved to swoon over back in the heady days of the Afghanistan
war and the lead up to Iraq, Rummy comes across as someone looking for answers to an
almost insurmountable problem...You realize these big shots in Washington are just
normal people without the omnipotent power, knowledge and experience that we often
project on them...Unfortunately, these guys are literally dealing with life and death
issues...
Rummy's "Must Read" memo:
http://www.usatoday.com/news/washington/executive/rumsfeld-memo.htm
Be that as it may, we'll get reax from McCain and Woolsey....Peggy will sound off on
the Reagan mini-series hit piece and we'll get into the political fallout of the Terri
Schiavo...
In the Buzz we've got one of Katrina's underlings, David Corn, author of the new book
"The Lies of George W. Bush: Mastering The Politics of Deception" (Can you guess which
side of the political aisle he's on??) vs. Tony Blankley and a 3rd person I'm trying
to work out studio arrangements for right now...
Here's a sampling of David's work: I Am No Novak...Here's why I'm not naming a CIA
officer in the Wilson leak probe.
http://thenation.com/capitalgames/index.mhtml?bid=3&pid=1007
We'll do the Rummy memo and some Fun Clinton News I got below...I think you'll dig
it...
The United States has no yardstick for measuring progress in the war on terrorism, has
not ''yet made truly bold moves'' in fighting al-Qaeda and other terror groups, and is
in for a ''long, hard slog'' in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a memo that Defense
Secretary Donald Rumsfeld sent to top-ranking Defense officials last week. (USA
Today) http://www.usatoday.com/usatonline/20031022/5609351s.htm
What's the political fallout of the Schiavo in Florida? Decision could aid GOP at the
polls...Gov. Bush and the Legislature reflect the wishes of conservative voters who
could be critical to Republican election success. (Miami Herald)
http://www.miami.com/mld/miamiherald/news/state/7074643.htm
Battle over coma woman to drag on Attorneys for the husband of a comatose Florida
woman on Wednesday were preparing an appeal of Gov. Jeb Bush's order that his wife's
feeding tube be reconnected.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/980564.asp
Anne Schroeder's column today notes that a Hardball studio tour went for $300 at a
recent Washington charity event:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61951-2003Oct21.html
Mortman's California post mortem: Democrats find plenty to spin from California
Self-serving explanations for the demise of Gray Davis
http://www.msnbc.com/news/979949.asp
Fun Clinton News...
Clinton, hip-hop to share billing at DNC fund-raiser...Pulsing lights, throbbing
hip-hop music and Bill Clinton are on tap next week for a Democratic National
Committee fund-raiser at a Washington nightclub designed to transform young
professionals into political donors. (The Washington Times)
http://www.washingtontimes.com/national/20031021-104451-2179r.htm
Democratic 2004 wannabe Howard Dean yesterday said Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton told
him she wouldn't run for president this time - and that Bill Clinton said he won't
publicly support any candidate in the primaries. (NY Post)
http://www.nypost.com/news/nationalnews/8784.htm
It's gettin' tight in Iowa folks! Dick Gephardt and Howard Dean remain close atop an
Iowa poll released Wednesday, but half of the voters who say they're likely to vote in
the Jan. 19 Democratic caucuses think it's likely that President Bush will win
re-election. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031022/ap_on_el_pr/iowa_poll_1
Senate OKs ban on abortion procedure...After years of emotional debate, the Senate
voted 64-34 Tuesday to send President Bush legislation to ban what critics call
partial-birth abortion.
http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/983016.asp
Arizona Republic's "ear to the ground": The rumor-mill buzz regarding a possible
independent run for president by John McCain in 2004 had increased several decibels.
The political gossips asserted, not implausibly, that things were shaping up well for
such a bid, with Bush's approval rating falling and a Democratic field still looking
pretty weak. http://www.azcentral.com/arizonarepublic/news/articles/1022robb22.html
Senior advisers to President Bush will recommend that he veto a spending measure for
Iraq's military and reconstruction needs if it requires Iraq to repay any of the
money, White House officials said yesterday. (The Washington Post)
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61307-2003Oct21.html
N. Korea spurns U.S. security offer...North Korea dismissed a U.S. offer to provide
multilateral security guarantees in exchange for Pyongyang ending its nuclear weapons
program. http://www.msnbc.com/modules/exports/ct_infobeat.asp?/news/981142.asp
Congress presses to finish before election-year begins...GOP defectors in the Senate
challenge White House on range of issues.
(Christian Science Monitor) http://www.csmonitor.com/2003/1022/p02s01-uspo.html
NBC News anchor Tom Brokaw will be the moderator of a debate among Democratic
presidential candidates set for Nov. 24 in Des Moines, the Democratic National
Committee announced Tuesday. (Des Moines Register)
http://desmoinesregister.com/news/stories/c4789004/22561616.html
>From former president Bill Clinton to party chairman Terence R. McAuliffe to the
>field of presidential contenders, few Democrats escape criticism in a new book by
>Sen. Zell Miller (Ga.), who argues that his party has abandoned him and the rest of
>the South. (AP) http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/articles/A61726-2003Oct21.html
President Bush's re-election campaign is gathering so much in contributions that some
Republicans are wondering why he needs all that money for an uncontested primary,
while others wonder why he plans to accept federal financing for the general election
campaign. (The Washington Times)
http://www.washtimes.com/national/20031021-104443-1741r.htm
Republican Sen. Chuck Hagel is strongly criticizing Congress, saying it gave President
Bush too much latitude in conducting foreign policy following the Sept. 11 terrorist
attacks. (AP)
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031021/ap_on_go_co/hagel_bush_1
Cronkite: I believe in war censorship (The London Guardian)
http://media.guardian.co.uk/broadcast/story/0,7493,1067889,00.html
Opinion/editorial
Rouseaux: Wishing on a star...The Bush administration announced its intention to
rejoin the fusion power project earlier this year, and Congress is expected to fund
that decision through the energy bill currently in conference.
http://www.washingtontimes.com/commentary/20031021-090345-6094r.htm
Tony's latest: Gen. Boykin's fighting spirit
http://washingtontimes.com/op-ed/20031021-090352-6004r.htm
Kaplan: From Baghdad to Manila...Another lousy analogy for the occupation of Iraq.
http://slate.msn.com/id/2090114/
Goldberg: It's not the president, stupid
http://www.jewishworldreview.com/cols/jonah.html
Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/
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