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The Hardball Briefing On MSNBC
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First up: Clinton in the cabinet!
Today, President-elect Barack Obama formally introduced former Democratic rival
Hillary Clinton as his Secretary of State. During the primaries, Obama and
Clinton fought bitterly over who would be the best candidate to restore the
nation's reputation abroad, end the Iraq war and engage the new global economy.
Obama won the presidency but will Clinton follow his direction or use the post
to push her own agenda? Vanity Fair columnist Christopher Hitchens and Salon's
Joan Walsh will debate the Clinton pick.
For more on the team of rivals:
http://firstread.msnbc.msn.com/archive/2008/12/01/1694173.aspx
Then, the rest of Obama's team: Robert Gates will stay on as his Defense
Secretary, James Jones as National Security Advisor, Eric Holder as Attorney
General and Susan Rice as US Ambassador to the United Nations.
The president-elect proves again that he values experience more than ideology,
but it has the left talking-and not in praise. The trio of Clinton, Gates and
Jones alone represent a centrist team that is far removed from Obama's campaign
platform. Is Obama building a team to his right so that he can move to the
left? OpenLeft.com's Chris Bowers and Senator Jack Reed (D-RI) will weigh in on
these latest developments.
For more on Obama's team:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/12/02/us/politics/02obama.html?_r=1&hp
Plus, Obama and Vice President-elect Joe Biden will meet with 40 state
governors tomorrow to discuss the economy. Many of those state leaders are the
future stars of the GOP and major contenders in the 2012 race, but they are
also looking for a piece of the Obama stimulus package. So will they play nice
or not at all? We'll talk to Minnesota Governor Tim Pawlenty for more on the
meeting.
Then in the Politics Fix, voters in Georgia will head to the polls tomorrow to
decide the runoff Senate election between Republican Saxby Chambliss and
Democrat Jim Martin. But Chambliss has a big name on his side: Gov. Sarah
Palin. Will the GOP pull through to trump the Democrats' chances at securing
that filibuster-proof seat number of 60? We'll ask MSNBC Political Analyst Pat
Buchanan and Newsweek's Howard Fineman.
And in these tough times, some people find that switching careers can help
their wallets. Maybe that's why Joe the Plumber has now become Joe the Writer.
All that and more in the Hardball Sideshow.
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/
Katie Corotto wrote the "Hardball Briefing" from Washington, D.C.
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