------------------------------------------------------
The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
------------------------------------------------------
It's Round Two: Obama v. McCain!
As the candidates prepare for the second Presidential debate of the election,
Hardball is live from the debate site at Belmont University in Nashville, TN
with all of the action. It's a big night for politics - don't miss it!
For more on the political stakes of tonight's debate:
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/10/07/1504498.aspx
And for a rundown of the latest campaign back-and-forth:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/07/us/politics/07strategy.html?ref=politics
First up on a 5pm Hardball, we'll get a sneak peek at the the candidates' plan
of attack with Obama Chief Strategist David Axelrod and McCain Senior Policy
Adviser Douglas Holtz-Eakin.
With the economy in crisis and the nation engaged in two wars, is this a
make-or-break moment for the candidates? We'll talk about the high stakes of
tonight's debate with NBC News Political Director Chuck Todd and USA Today's
Susan Page.
Next - new polls show McCain trailing Obama in key battleground states. Do
desperate times call for desperate measures? We'll ask Newsweek's Howard
Fineman and Politico's Roger Simon to give us their take.
Be sure to check out Fineman's latest column for Newsweek, "Obama and the
Echoes of Lincoln:"
http://blog.newsweek.com/blogs/racetothefinish/archive/2008/10/06/obama-and-the-echoes-of-lincoln.aspx
And Simon's latest in Politico, "How McCain could pull this one off:"
http://www.politico.com/news/stories/1008/14340.html
Then - what do Obama and McCain need to say in tonight's debate? Tonight our
roundtable includes the Chicago Sun-Times Lynn Sweet and Politico's John Harris.
For more on tonight's "town hall" format, check out Sweet's Chicago Sun-Times
blog: http://blogs.suntimes.com/sweet/2008/10/mccain_obama_deal_puts_limits.html
Then on a special 7pm edition of the show - which candidate will dominate
tonight's debate stage? Who can convince the American people that they can be
trusted to lead the nation out of crisis? Democratic Strategist Steve McMahon
and Republican Strategist Todd Harris will tell you what Obama and McCain each
need to communicate.
The Dow Jones fell another 500 points today as the sell-off continued. With the
economy sure to be the top issue of the night, we'll bring in McCain supporter
and former businessman Gov. Mitt Romney and Obama supporter Sen. Claire
McCaskill (D-MO) to weigh in on which candidate has the edge.
Plus, can McCain slow down the momentum Obama has shown over the past couple
weeks? With only two debates left to change things around, will Sen. McCain try
to fight his way back starting tonight? We'll ask the Chicago Tribune's Jill
Zuckman and Politico's Jonathan Martin.
For more on the new NBC News/Wall Street Journal poll:
http://online.wsj.com/article/SB122332442918808789.html
And for the latest battleground state polls:
http://www.time.com/time/politics/article/0,8599,1847805,00.html
The second Presidential candidates debate starts tonight at 9 p.m. and will be
followed by specials from David Gregory, Keith Olbermann, Chris Matthews, and
Rachel Maddow.
Stay tuned for a special midnight edition of Hardball and the rest of MSNBC's
nightlong coverage of the 2008 vice presidential debate. It's only on MSNBC -
the place for politics!
For all 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.
And don't forget to check out NBC's "First Read" and MSNBC.com's political
calendar.
=========================================
This e-mail is never sent unsolicited. You have received this The Hardball
Briefing Newsletter newsletter because you subscribed to it or, someone
forwarded it to you.
To remove yourself from the list (or to add yourself to the list if this
message was forwarded to you) simply go to
http://www.msnbc.msn.com/id/25810860, select unsubscribe, enter the email
address receiving this message, and click the Go button.
Microsoft Corporation - One Microsoft Way - Redmond, WA 98052
MSN PRIVACY STATEMENT
http://privacy.msn.com <http://privacy.msn.com/>
