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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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President Bush swiftly dismissed calls for Defense Sec. Don Rumsfeld's
dismissal again today. Rumsfeld, in his own Pentagon briefing, also knocked
down any notion that he's going anywhere. Tonight on Hardball, Chris will host
two mothers of military servicemen killed in Iraq to talk about the calls for
Rumsfeld's removal.
Deborah Meyer is a member of American Gold Star Mothers, Blue Star Mothers of
America, and Families United for the Troops and Their Mission. Meyer, who lost
her stepson in Iraq and whose son is deploying to Iraq this fall, supports
Rumsfeld. Rosemary Palmer, who co-founded with her husband Families of the
Fallen for Change to call for a bipartisan plan for withdrawal from Iraq, lost
her son in Iraq and thinks Rumsfeld must be replaced.
Former Nixon/Ford/Reagan/Clinton adviser David "Four Administrations" Gergen
will be here with Tony Blankley, editorial page editor for the Washington
Times, to talk about the latest White House changes and whether any more are in
store for this midterm election year. Will the calls for Rumsfeld's departure
continue through 2008?
Plus, Chris will talk with 2006 Pulitzer Prize winners Susan Schmidt of the
Washington Post and James Risen of the New York Times. Schmidt was honored
Monday for her reporting on the Abramoff scandal and Risen won for his
reporting on the NSA's once-secret domestic wiretapping program. Read more
about the winners in Howard Kurtz's Washington Post piece today:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/04/17/AR2006041700743.html.
By the way, you can watch clips of Monday night's New Orleans mayoral debate on
MSNBC.com: http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3036697/.
For a little post-debate discussion, Chris will talk tonight with Norman
Robinson, anchor for WDSU and co-moderator for Monday's debate, about the
highlights of the night. How did Mayor Ray Nagin do? Did any of the other
candidates improve their chances to win or to make it into a runoff contest?
Read post-debate analysis by NBC News Political Director Elizabeth Wilner:
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12367219/.
And check out the Times-Picayune's coverage here:
http://www.nola.com/newslogs/topnews/index.ssf?/mtlogs/nola_topnews/archives/2006_04_18.html#132146.
Here are some things you might not have read yet today:
--AP reports on the Chinese president's U.S. jaunt (including dinner with Bill
Gates!) http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12372792/
--AP chronicles the White House shuffle of Bolten, Portman, etc.
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/12369121/
--Hardblogger (with exclusive New Orleans debate details)
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/5445086/
--NBC's First Read http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/3626796/
--Doonesbury http://www.doonesbury.com/strip/dailydose/index.html
Brooke Brower compiled the "Hardball Briefing" in Washington, D.C.
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