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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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Dear Hardballers,
Let's all catch our breath while we continue to chew on these presidential
debates. While some are talking about the French election, the rest of us are
still trying to decide who won and lost the early presidential debates here at
home. Some Hardballers wasted no time getting back into the Washington swing
of things. Of course, a visit from Queen Elizabeth II makes that an easy call
- plus a good reason to pull your kids out of school (don't worry, South Lawn
admirers, I won't name names) NBC's own David Gregory and his fantastic wife,
Beth Wilkinson, made the cut for tonight's State Dinner. I hope he does his
Brokaw imitation for Her Majesty or for Mrs. Ronald Reagan, who could not have
been more gracious as hostess to MSNBC last week at the Roland Reagan
Presidential Library in Simi Valley, California.
When we were leaving the White House this morning, after greeting the Queen, I
ran into a woman carrying a very large branch. I asked her why and she
explained she took it from the Reagan Oak. Yes, I said the Reagan Oak -- the
branch was 4 feet. How many Reagan Oaks are there? She reminded me that each
president planted one tree and she gave me a piece of the branch. I am
thinking of sending it to Fred Ryan, chairman of the board for the Reagan
Library and president and CEO of Politico.com, our partners for the GOP debate.
Ann Klenk thinks that I should put it in water and grow my own Reagan Oak here
at Hardball HQ.
Chris Matthews interviewed former CIA director George Tenet today and I am told
even if you watched NBC's "Meet the Press" yesterday, you have to see this
interview! Tenet's been blamed for the distorted intelligence on Iraq's
alleged wmd program used by the Bush administration in the run-up to the war in
Iraq. Now the former director is speaking out in a new book, "At the Center of
the Storm." Don't miss his talk with Chris, who's now in Philly, getting
ready for tonight's mayoral debate on NBC's WCAU-TV and Hardball, live from the
City of Brotherly Love.
Also on the show tonight, how low will the numbers go? The latest Newsweek
Poll has the president's approval rating at an all time low of 28%. We'll
hear from MSNBC Political Analyst and Newsweek Chief Political Correspondent
Howard Fineman. Plus, will President Bush and the Democrats compromise on
Iraq? Tonight's Hardballers: Republican strategist Ed Rogers and Democratic
strategist Jenny Backus will dig in.
Then, debate over Iraq, where 12 more U.S. soldiers died over the weekend.
We'll talk to two Iraq war veterans, VoteVets.org member John Bruhns and Move
America Forward's Eric Egland.
For the latest on all of today's political news, go to the best political
website www.politics.msnbc.com, powered by NBC News and the National Journal.
Don't forget to check out NBC's "First Read" http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/
and MSNBC.com's political calendar http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/14708421/.
Tammy Haddad and Shelby Poduch compiled the Hardball Briefing from Washington,
D.C.
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