memeorandum: Roles of Clintons at Convention Start to Clear (Katharine Q. Seelye/New York Times)

2:30 PM ET, August 8, 2008

Top Items:

Russia Threatens Retaliation After Georgia Says It Fired on Planes — MOSCOW — The sharpest fighting since the early 1990s in the disputed Caucasian enclave of South Ossetia threatened to draw Russia and the American-backed former Soviet republic of Georgia into direct military conflict on Friday.

Discussion: Guardian, TalkLeft, Washington Wire, The Duck of Minerva, Ben Smith's Blogs, Commentary, Taylor Marsh, PERRspectives Blog, European Tribune, Think Progress, FP Passport, A Blog For All and MSNBC

CNN:

Georgia ‘under attack’ as Russian tanks roll in — TBLISI, Georgia (CNN) — Georgia's president said Friday that his country is under attack by Russian tanks and warplanes, and he accused Russia of targeting civilians as tensions over the breakaway Georgian region of South Ossetia appeared to boil over into full-blown conflict.

Discussion: The Corner, Opinio Juris, NO QUARTER, TIME.com and Blogs of War

James Joyner / Outside The Beltway:

Russia Invades South Ossetia, Georgia Shoots Down Russian Planes — Russian tanks have moved into the disputed Caucasus region of South Ossetia, dramatically escalating already high tensions with Georgia. … This is still a holdover from the breakup of the Soviet Union.

Discussion: Newshoggers.com, The Moderate Voice, Eunomia, Washington Post and Balloon Juice

Fox News:
Georgia, Russia ‘Very Close’ to War Over Breakaway Republic South Ossetia

Discussion: Commentary, TownHall Blog, BLACKFIVE and Blogs of War

Robert Farley / Lawyers, Guns and Money:
On the General Principles of the Russia-Georgia Issue

Discussion: Wonk Room, Newshoggers.com, The Duck of Minerva and FP Passport

Musa Sadulayev / Associated Press:
Georgia says Russian aircraft bombed its air bases

Discussion: The Glittering Eye and At-Largely

Peter Finn / Washington Post:
Georgian, Russian Troops Clash in South Ossetia

Discussion: Guardian and Hot Air

BJ Bjornson / Newshoggers.com: Because there just aren't enough hotspots

Amy Sullivan / Time:

An Antichrist Obama in McCain Ad? — It's not easy to make the infamous Willie Horton ad from the 1988 presidential campaign seem benign. But suggesting that Barack Obama is the Antichrist might just do it. — That's just what some outraged Christian supporters of the Democratic nominee …

Discussion: The Swamp, Little Green Footballs, Ben Smith's Blogs, Ross Douthat, Hot Air, The Poor Man Institute, The Washington Note, beliefnet and TPM Election Central

Wall Street Journal:
McCain Web Ad Is Accused Of Linking Obama to Antichrist

Discussion: Boston Globe and TPM Election Central

Denver Post:

Clinton backers want vote — Brenda Krause is tired of fearmongering among the Democrats. — The 55-year-old delegate to the Democratic National Convention doesn't think the party — or its unity — is in any way compromised by her voting for Hillary Rodham Clinton at the roll call.

Discussion: TalkLeft, Corrente and Sister Toldjah

Anne E. Kornblut / Washington Post:
Democratic Aides Working on Plan To Keep the Peace At the Convention

Discussion: The New Republic, TalkLeft, The Caucus, Ta-Nehisi Coates, The Carpetbagger Report, The Reaction, Wake up America, American Power, NO QUARTER and NY Daily News

Mark Murray / MSNBC: FIRST THOUGHTS: THE OLYMPICS LULL

Katharine Q. Seelye / New York Times:
Roles of Clintons at Convention Start to Clear

Discussion: Newsweek, The Caucus, Philly.com and Real Clear Politics

Byron York / The Corner:
Hillary, the Convention, and Women's Equality Day

Discussion: Vox Popoli and blogger interrupted

Paul Krugman / New York Times:

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.

Discussion: Ta-Nehisi Coates, Weekly Standard Blog, The Moderate Voice, Wizbang, The New Republic, Dump Michele Bachmann, Political Machine, Bloggopher, The Seminal, Eschaton and The Impolitic

Peggy Noonan / Wall Street Journal:

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.

Discussion: The Moderate Voice, No More Mister Nice Blog and Commentary

Adam Serwer / American Prospect:

When Identity Politics Backfire — Nikki Tinker's resounding defeat in her primary challenge to Rep. Stephen Cohen may suggest that identity politics don't work quite as well as they used to. — This week the Democratic primary in the mostly African-American Ninth District in Memphis, Tennessee made national headlines.

Discussion: The Swamp, Ta-Nehisi Coates, Salon and Memphis Commercial Appeal

Beth Rucker / Associated Press:
Incumbent Tenn. congressman loses primary

Discussion: Washington Wire, Booman Tribune and The Other McCain

Woody Baird / Associated Press:
Tenn. Democrat beats lawyer who linked him to KKK

Discussion: Think Progress

Glenn Greenwald / Salon:

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 …

Discussion: Open Left, Firedoglake, Buck Naked Politics and Newshoggers.com

Sarah Wheaton / The Caucus:
Stung By FISA, Group to Drop Money Bomb

Discussion: The Huffington Post and Accountability Now PAC

Mark Murray / MSNBC:

MCCAIN'S NEW AD CONTAINS DUBIOUS CLAIMS — From NBC's Mark Murray — The McCain campaign has announced it's running yet another TV ad hitting Obama for his “celebrity” and for wanting to raise taxes. — The campaign says the ad is being cycled into its buy in Colorado, Iowa, Michigan …

Discussion: MoJoBlog, Ben Smith's Blogs, The Caucus, Obsidian Wings and Open Left

Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
YEP — Schumer: “I would answer back hard. What do you mean [Obama's] not one of us?

Discussion: TownHall Blog, The Corner, Ben Smith's Blogs and Electoral-vote.com

Jeff Stein / SpyTalk:

Suskind to Release CIA Interview Transcripts on ‘Forged’ Document — Author Ron Suskind says he will release transcripts of his interviews with a top CIA official that will confirm his story that in 2003 the White House ordered the agency to fabricate a phony document linking Iraq to the Sept. 11 …

Discussion: Think Progress

Joe Conason / Salon:
New evidence suggests Ron Suskind is right

Discussion: Emptywheel

Michael Luo / New York Times:

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 …

Discussion: michellemalkin.com, The Caucus, Jonathan Martin's Blogs, TownHall Blog, protein wisdom, Hot Air, The Corner, The Foundry, Balloon Juice, TPM Election Central, JammieWearingFool, Macsmind and Patterico's Pontifications

Marc Ambinder:

Just Asking... If there were a group of questionable donations all with the name Abdullah — that were funneled through a guy in Jordan — who is under investigation for war profiteering — would this be a bigger deal?

Discussion: TPM Election Central, New York Times, Daily Kos, The Caucus, The Carpetbagger Report and The Washington Note

Paul Bedard / US News:

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.

Jonathan Martin / The Politico:

After shake-up, McCain ground game revs up — A month after a campaign shakeup that reshaped John McCain's field operation, aides to the Republican nominee are touting organizational changes they say are bringing them closer to Barack Obama's sprawling effort.

Discussion: The Huffington Post, PoliticalBase.com Blog, Ben Smith's Blogs, www.redstate.com and MyDD

Washington Post:

Atlantic Scores Internal Clinton Campaign Emails — Just when you thought everyone had moved on... former advisers to Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton are in a tizzy over an upcoming piece in the Atlantic Monthly that chronicles the inner workings of the now-defunct campaign.

Discussion: Washington Monthly and Liberal Values

Kimberley A. Strassel / Wall Street Journal:

Republican Energy Fumble — Politics has its puzzling moments. John McCain and most of the GOP experienced one late last week. That was when five of their own set about dismantling the best issue Republicans have in the upcoming election. — It's taken time, but Sen. McCain and his party …

Discussion: The Corner and www.redstate.com

CNN:

Mayor wants federal probe after SWAT raids house, kills dogs — (CNN) — A Maryland mayor is asking the federal government to investigate why SWAT team members burst into his home without knocking and shot his two dogs to death in an investigation into a drug smuggling scheme.

Discussion: Associated Press, Baltimore Sun, Brilliant at Breakfast and Reason Magazine