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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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Hardball airs tonight at 7, 9 & 11 pm ET...4, 6 & 8 pm PT...We have the special 9 pm
ET re-air as Norville is on vacation
Somewhat disturbing and confusing news this morning as we're learning the intelligence
that lead to the heightened terror threat alert was 3 or more years old...What do we
know and when did we know it? What does this say about our government's ability to
stay on top of these terrorist threats? How accurate are these warnings and what are
we supposed to do about it? And what does it all mean for campaign 2004?
Peter Steiner (one of my favorites) has a particularly apropos cartoon in today's Wash
Times http://www.washtimes.com/national/steiner.htm
We turned to our all star panel of journalists for answers: Judith Miller of The New
York Times, Tony Blankley of The Washington Times and Dana Priest of The Washington
Post..
In the back half of the show we turn to HBO funny man Bill Maher who'll talk about
everything from the latest terror threat, to Bush-Kerry to Fahrenheit 9/11 and
whatever else happens to pop up...The fun thing about Bill is that you never really
know what'll come out of his mouth next...We're expecting more than a few chuckles out
of this one...Pls join us
>From Shuster's Corner...
"We've got a hot package tonight on the latest battles in the campaign 'ad war.' This
is the time of year the democrats had feared. Kerry is on public financing and is
limited to spending $75 between now and election day. President Bush will have the
same $75m limit... but his tab doesn't start running until he officially accepts the
nomination at his convention in September. In the meantime, the Bush campaign is
loaded and is pressing the financial advantage today with a new round of tv ads. The
Kerry campaign is dark. But "friendly" organizations like the Media Fund are
"stepping into the void" as one strategist put it to me over the phone earlier today.
We'll explain."
Thanks for all the folks who braved the weather last night to join us at Sequoia!
Everyone appeared to be enjoying themselves and we had plenty of t-shirts to go 'round.
Dominic Bellone wrote, compiled and edited The Briefing from Washington, DC
Dated intelligence...Most of the al-Qaida surveillance that led to a new terrorism
alert Sunday was conducted before the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks. (The Washington Post)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5581230/
President Bush and Congress must give a proposed national intelligence director and
counterterrorism center sufficient authority to overcome the intelligence community's
traditional turf battles, senators said Tuesday as Congress continued to explore the
September 11 commission's recommendations. (AP)
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040803/D847Q1NO0.html
Car bombs kill five Iraqi guards, police...Four U.S. soldiers killed in bombing,
fighting the previous day (AP) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5455104/
Afghan and U.S. troops backed by warplanes killed as many as 50 militants in a daylong
battle near the Pakistani border, the U.S. military said Tuesday, one of the bloodiest
clashes since American forces entered Afghanistan. (AP)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5580383/
Pakistan arrests more al-Qaida suspects...Authorities interrogate detainees, including
Syrian national (AP) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5581230/
President Bush is making a fresh appeal to Roman Catholic voters and fattening the
GOP's campaign war chest in Texas on Tuesday, the start of three days of campaigning
in the nation's midsection. (AP)
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040803/D847OSJO1.html
Kerry eyes deficit; Bush woos Catholics...Both campaigns focusing on Midwest
battlegrounds (AP) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5591143/
John Kerry says he can "put a deal together" as president to drastically reduce U.S.
troop strength in Iraq, a pledge reminiscent of Richard Nixon's secret plan to end the
Vietnam War and Dwight D. Eisenhower's promise to stop fighting in Korea. (AP)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5591226/
Heinz Kerry: Four More Years of 'Hell' if Bush Wins (Reuters)
http://news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=615&u=/nm/20040803/pl_nm/campaign_kerry_heinz_dc_1&printer=1
Kerry gave her a long hug and a big smile when she finished..."She speaks her mind,
and she speaks the truth, and she's pretty quick on her feet, too," Kerry said. (AP)
http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040803/D847FGLO1.html
Democratic presidential nominee John F. Kerry emerged from his national convention
with a small lead over President Bush in the race for the White House and improved his
standing against the president on the economy and who is better qualified to serve as
commander in chief, according to a new Washington Post-ABC News poll. (The Washington
Post) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5581227/
Vice presidential nominee John Edwards courted a traditionally Republican
constituency, telling Cuban-Americans that Democrats in the White House would pressure
Fidel Castro and "promote freedom not just in the world but also in this hemisphere."
(AP) http://apnews.myway.com/article/20040803/D847OUB80.html
Aliens program costs Bush...Jim Nixon, a retired Army officer and staunch
conservative, has voted Republican in every presidential race since Dwight D.
Eisenhower topped the ticket. (The Washington Times)
http://washingtontimes.com/national/20040803-122624-9847r.htm
Barack Obama might get a race, after all...Former GOP presidential candidate Alan
Keyes told Illinois Republicans Monday that he is ''open to the idea'' of taking on
the Democrat in the U.S. Senate race -- a move that would pit two eloquent, nationally
known African Americans against one another. (Chicago Sun Times)
http://www.suntimes.com/output/news/cst-nws-sen03.html
Kerry donors targeted by fake e-mail...Fraudulent e-mail purporting to be from the
Kerry-Edwards campaign sends would-be donors off to a fake Web site in the latest
twist on the phish phenomenon. (MSNBC) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5581739/
Opinion/Editorial
Byman: Safer Than You Think...The security we've enjoyed since Sept. 11 isn't just a
matter of dumb luck. http://slate.com/id/2104641/
Goldsborough: Iraq "Not a conservative vs. liberal issue"
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/op-ed/goldsborough/20040726-9999-lz1e26golds.html
Kemp: Weapons of Class Warfare
http://www.townhall.com/columnists/jackkemp/jk20040802.shtml
Doonesbury http://www.ucomics.com/doonesbury/
Mallard Fillmore http://seattlepi.nwsource.com/fun/mallard.asp
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