------------------------------------------------------
The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
------------------------------------------------------
First up - when candidates attack!
Today Sen. McCain continued to push character questions about Sen. Obama's ties
to 1960s radical Bill Ayers. With polls showing the Obama-Biden ticket edging
ahead, do desperate times call for desperate measures? The Obama campaign
meanwhile is keeping its focus on the economy by hitting the Republican ticket
on its new mortgage buyout plan.
Is McCain talking enough about economic issues? Or will going negative work
with voters in crucial swing states?
Tonight on Hardball we'll take an in-depth look with MSNBC's Pat Buchanan and
radio talk show host Michael Smerconish.
For more on the McCain camp's new tactics:
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/10/09/1520155.aspx
And for the latest on Obama:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/us/politics/09obama.html?ref=politics
Next - it was exactly one year ago that the Dow Jones Industrial Average hit
its all-time high of 14,164. Today the index is 5,000 points off that record.
With the economy clearly the top issue of the election, will voters hold
Republicans responsible for the current state of crisis? Or will they turn on
incumbents altogether and vote to 'throw the bums out?' We'll talk '08 politics
with Rep. Jim Moran (D-VA) and Rep. Heather Wilson (R-NM).
For more on how this year's economic crisis could play out in Congressional
races:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/10/09/us/politics/09cong.html?_r=1&hp&oref=slogin
And when the going gets tough, which way do voters go? With a Republican in the
White House, is this election Obama's to lose? Or will Americans become averse
to change and opt for McCain? We'll take a look at politics in times of crisis
with NBC News Presidential Historian Michael Beschloss and Time magazine's
Richard Stengel.
Be sure to check out the Washington Post's analysis of the race:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2008/10/08/AR2008100803523.html
Plus, Gov. Palin will make the most of her "Hockey Mom" street cred this
weekend. We'll have that story and more for you in the Hardball Sideshow. Don't
miss it!
Then on the Politics Fix - we'll break down today's campaign events with the
WashingtonPost.com's Chris Cillizza and radio talk show host Ed Gordon.
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.
And, don't forget to check out NBC's "First Read" at
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/ and MSNBC.com's Hardblogger at
http://hardblogger.msnbc.msn.com/ .
Vidhya Murugesan wrote the "Hardball Briefing" from Washington, D.C.
=========================================
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/>
