Hardball Highlights
On "Hardball" Monday, Republican presidential candidate Duncan Hunter defended conservative pundit Ann Coulter’s incendiary commentary.
“Especially since Ann Coulter said nice things about me, I think she’s closely approaching that level of being a great American,” he said.
Coulter has called Hunter her first choice for president, and Hunter returned the praise Monday, calling the conservative radio talk show host “a particularly articulate spokeswoman for the conservative view.”
Too often, he complained, “when conservatives talk, they are considered to talk in a mean way, and yet when Democrats talk, they’re exercising their right to free speech and they’re simply conveying a philosophy.”
“You know, I’m reminded of the [vice presidential] debates between John Edwards and Dick Cheney [in 2004] in which John Edwards said some pretty personal things about Dick Cheney’s family,” Hunter added. “And Vice President Cheney just kept on talking about the issues.
“So you know, I’m running a campaign on a basis of a strong national defense and enforceable borders,” he said. “... But Ann Coulter — I think Ann Coulter is good.” Click here to watch the interview or read more.
From NBC's Domenico Montanaro, as posted on First Read
A day after his wife Elizabeth called in to MSNBC’s “Hardball” to confront conservative commentator Ann Coulter, Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards made his own appearance on the show.
He dismissed Coulter, calling her “mean-spirited,” having no shame and being “crazy.” He defended his wife’s efforts to ask Coulter to drop her personal attacks, saying, “You have to stand up to them.”
“I don’t think [Coulter] has any shame; there’s no doubt about that,” Edwards said. “I think that's just the way she behaves. That's who she is. And I think that's a lot of what we see from these people who are just -- that are crazy.”
Read the transcript from today’s Hardball. Click here for video.
By Mark Murray and Domenico Montanaro
NBC News
The wife of Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards called into MSNBC’s “Hardball” on Tuesday to confront Ann Coulter on her personal attacks on her husband and family.
Coulter, the controversial conservative commentator, appeared on an outdoor set with host Chris Matthews -- and also with dozens of supporters and detractors waiting to ask questions. But there was another person waiting to pose a question to Coulter: Elizabeth Edwards.
According to an Edwards campaign aide, Elizabeth Edwards wanted to call into the show when she heard that Coulter would be taking questions, and she called a Hardball producer to get the phone number needed to dial into the show. The result is the exchange below (click here to watch the video):
Chris Matthews: You know who's on the line? Somebody to respond to what you said Edwards yesterday morning -- Elizabeth Edwards. She wanted to call in today we said she could. Elizabeth Edwards go on the line you're on the line with Ann Coulter
Elizabeth Edwards: Hello, Chris.
Matthews: You wanna say something directly to the person who's with me?
Edwards: I'm calling you … in the South when someone does something that displeases us, we wanna ask them politely to stop doing it. Uh - I'd like to ask Ann Coulter -- if she wants to debate on issues, on positions -- we certainly disagree with nearly everything she said on your show today -- but uh it's quite another matter for these personal attacks that the things she has said over the years not just about John but about other candidates. It lowers our political dialogue precisely at the time that we need to raise it. So I want to use the opportunity … to ask her politely stop the personal attacks.
CONTINUED >>
For the past four years this has been a country divided by the war in Iraq. But even the most ardent critics stand in full support of the troops. That's why Americans are furious about reports of wounded veterans returning home to shameful neglect at Walter Reed and other military hospitals around the country.
We talk to Sen. Jim Webb, D-Va., who was wounded in Vietnam and sits on the Armed Services Committee. WATCH VIDEO
Rep. John Tierney of Massachusetts chaired today's hearing at Walter Reed Army Medical Center and California Congressman David Dreier is the ranking Republican on the House Rules Committee. WATCH VIDEO
We also hear from retired Gen. Barry Barry McCaffrey, who's an MSNBC military analyst; Annette McLeod, who testified today that her husband, Corporal Wendell McLeod, was originally sent to the wrong hospital and later suffered delays in getting outpatient tests and treatment; and Todd Bowers, a Marine who was shot in the face while in his second tour in Iraq and is now the spokesperson for the Iraq & Afghanistan Veterans Of America. WATCH VIDEO
U.S. Army Secretary Francis Harvey resigned today after a week of devastating reports about facilities for wounded U.S. troops at Walter Reed Army Medical Center. We’ll talks to NBC’s Jim Miklaszewski and the Washington Post’s Dana Priest, who broke this story about terrible conditions. WATCH VIDEO
Also tonight, top conservative leaders and activists in the country are gathered in Washington. All the major Republican candidates are there except for Sen. John McCain. We talk to one of his supporters, former governor and Homeland Security Secretary Tom Ridge. WATCH VIDEO
And finally, both Democratic presidential frontrunners Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama will travel to Selma, Ala., to commemorate the 1965 civil rights march in that city this weekend. MSNBC’s Norah O’Donnell spoke to Sen. Obama about the civil rights milestone and the Clintons. WATCH VIDEO
Sen. John McCain made it official last night on the “Late Show with David Letterman.” Recently, the senator joined us last October for a Hardball College tour at Iowa State and discussed his views on Iraq. With polls showing the country wants out of Iraq, will McCain’s pro-war position be his campaign albatross? Mike Barnicle is an MSNBC contributor, and Chuck Todd is editor in chief of The Hotline. WATCH VIDEO
Plus, the top commander at Walter Reed is out after another damning report in the Washington Post today which said top hospital officials knew about the neglect of wounded soldiers for years. We talk with Dana Priest, the reporter who broke this story, as well as Steve Robinson, director of veterans affairs at Veterans for America, who says that shortly after the war in Iraq began, he told Kevin Kiley about the bad care at Walter Reed. WATCH VIDEO
And finally, what can Chicago politics teach Obama about running for president? Richard M. Daley -- who won his sixth term as mayor of Chicago on Tuesday, putting him on track to surpass his father as the longest serving mayor of that city -- says plenty. WATCH VIDEO
Today the stock market rebounded slightly after Tuesday's drop of over 400 points. Most analysts said the collapse was triggered by a plunge in Chinese stocks. But why did a sell-off in Shanghai cause a drop in U.S. stocks? Is the new global economy putting the American economy at risk? Did Bush's policies contribute to yesterday's drop? Did fears of a recession play on the minds of traders? We begin with MSNBC Political Analyst Pat Buchanan and former Clinton Administration Labor Secretary Robert Reich. WATCH VIDEO
Plus, now that the dust has settled, we ask Jim Cramer, host of CNBC's "Mad Money," about the state of the economy and what's yet to come. WATCH VIDEO
And finally, was the suicide bomb attack on Tuesday at the gates of the main American base in Afghanistan during a visit by Vice President Dick Cheney a signal to the U.S. that the Taliban and al-Qaeda are resurgent? Michael Sheehan is an NBC News terrorism analyst. WATCH VIDEO
Highlight's from Tuesday's Hardball:
The stock market had the biggest one-day slide in more than 3 ½ years today. We talk to CNBC’s Jim Cramer to find out why stocks took a nose-dive today and the political ramifications of the drop. WATCH VIDEO
Plus, a suicide bomber attacked the entrance of a U.S. military base in Afghanistan where Vice President Dick Cheney was staying killing more than a dozen people including one U.S. soldier. The Vice President was not hurt in the attack. A spokesman for the Taliban said the attack targeted the Vice President, a charge the U.S. Military strongly denies. But with a five-fold increase in suicide bombings in Afghanistan and with over 10,000 Taliban fighters preparing for a “spring offensive” is the Taliban getting ready to retake Afghanistan? Former U.N. Ambassador Richard Holbrooke says the warning signs have been ignored. WATCH VIDEO
Will Congress do something about the Taliban's apparent resurgence in Afghanistan and Pakistan? Will they do something “binding” on Iraq? Rep. Debbie Wasserman Schultz, D-Fla., and Rep. Chris Shays, R-Conn., discuss. WATCH VIDEO
And what’s going to happen with Iran? Investigative journalist Seymour Hersh reports in this week’s New Yorker magazine that the Bush Administration is engaged in clandestine operations against Iran that have not only brought us closer to an open confrontation with that country but have also made us bedfellows with Sunni extremists sympathetic to al Qaeda. How close are we to war with Iran? And is the White House’s shift in Middle East strategy benefiting our enemies in the war against terrorism?
WATCH VIDEO
Highlight's from Monday's "Hardball":
Today, the judge in the Scooter Libby trial sent one of the jurors home for “contact with media coverage” of the trial. Hardball’s David Shuster reports. WATCH VIDEO
And the other big story today, President Bush appears to have found a way to make a combative Congress work to his advantage. Reports out today that Bush is not happy with Pakistan’s help fighting the Taliban. And the president warns that “Congress” may cut off funding to Pakistan if things don’t improve there. And to reinforce the message, the administration sent their number one enforcer—Vice President Cheney made an unexpected visit to Pakistan today to deliver the message in person. Will Bush’s strategy work? We talk to New Mexico Governor Bill Richardson, a Democratic presidential candidate and former U.S. ambassador to the United Nations. WATCH VIDEO
Richard Haass, a former Bush State Department official who's now president of the Council on Foreign Relations, joins us to talk about Mideast policy and we ask him about Angelina Jolie's new role on the council. WATCH VIDEO
Plus, actress and U.N. Good Will Ambassador Mia Farrow talks about her fourth fact finding mission to Darfur. WATCH VIDEO
Highlight's from Friday's "Hardball":
Congress comes back next week and Senate Democrats want to repeal the 2002 Iraq war resolution and replace it with a narrower measure that would limit the President and the military’s role in Iraq. The Senate has twice failed to pass a non-binding resolution opposing the President’s plan to escalate the war. What makes them think this plan will be successful? We talk to presidential candidate Sen. Joe Biden, one of the architects of this new plan. WATCH VIDEO
Former Iowa Governor Tom Vilsack said he’s dropping out because he can’t raise enough cash. WATCH VIDEO
The jury’s still out in the Scooter Libby Case. Hardball’s David Shuster has the latest on that. WATCH VIDEO
Documentary maker Rory Kennedy has an inside look at the Abu Ghraib prison tragedy. WATCH VIDEO
