One Nation, Under a New Obama Salute  —  George Bush had his three-fingered W salute that supporters flashed when greeting him at presidential campaign events in 2000.  And now, if a Los Angeles creative agency gets its way, Sen. Barack Obama will see fans meet him with his own salute like the one above.

Georgia, Russia ‘Very Close’ to War Over Breakaway Republic South Ossetia  —  BREAKING NEWS: Russian military says 10 Russian peacekeepers have been killed and 30 wounded in violence in South Ossetia.  —  Developing story, will be updated; read previous story below:

Democratic Aides Working on Plan To Keep the Peace At the Convention  —  With the clock running out on preparations for the Democratic convention, advisers to Sen. Barack Obama are scrambling to reach a compromise with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton to appease her supporters and find roles for her and her husband.

Know-Nothing Politics  —  So the G.O.P. has found its issue for the 2008 election.  For the next three months the party plans to keep chanting: “Drill here!  Drill now!  Drill here!  Drill now!  Four legs good, two legs bad!”  O.K., I added that last part.

Accountability Now/Strange Bedfellows money bomb  —  Richard Nixon, August 8, 1974, 9:01 p.m. from the Oval Office: … Thirty-four years ago today, Richard Nixon was forced from office as a result of mounting public anger, which in turn fueled the bipartisan intent of Congress to impeach him …

Cohen on track for decisive victory  —  The bet Steve Cohen campaign made with himself and with the city of Memphis might have seemed naïve.  —  Some critics called it pandering.  —  But Cohen's gut told him to run on his record.  He said his heart told him to embrace the presidential rival …

Group Plans Campaign Against G.O.P. Donors  —  Nearly 10,000 of the biggest donors to Republican candidates and causes across the country will probably receive a foreboding “warning” letter in the mail next week.  —  The letter is an opening shot across the bow from an unusual …

John Edwards love child rumours threaten the Barack Obama presidential campaign  —  Barack Obama's supporters yesterday tried to distance him from a potentially damaging sex scandal.  —  His possible running mate John Edwards faced renewed suggestions that he had a love child.

The Olympics Are Political  —  Today the 2008 Summer Olympics start in Beijing.  The debate in the lead up to the Games has focused on whether or not this sporting event, representing the pinnacle of thousands of athletes' careers, is also a time to discuss politics.

Lord of the Memes  —  All my life I've been a successful pseudo-intellectual, sprinkling quotations from Kafka, Epictetus and Derrida into my conversations, impressing dates and making my friends feel mentally inferior.  But over the last few years, it's stopped working.  People just look at me blankly.

Political Cycles  —  You're in a plane and you're flying over the campaign at a level of about 10,000 feet, and you look down and see: Not much has changed.  Battle lines fixed, topography the same, troops pretty much where they were.  —  But land the plane, walk around and talk to people, and you realize: This thing is moving.

Obama starts isle vacation tomorrow  —  Sen. Barack Obama will get his Hawaii vacation after all.  The Illinois Democrat is expected to arrive in Honolulu tomorrow for a nine-day vacation.  —  The presumptive Democratic presidential nominee is expected to be accompanied by his wife and two daughters.