Top Items:
Ben Smith / The Politico:
‘Invasion of Georgia’—a ‘3 a.m. moment’ — When the North Caucasus slid into war Thursday night, it presented Senators John McCain and Barack Obama with a true “3 a.m. moment,” and their responses to the crisis suggested dramatic differences in how each candidate, as president, would lead America in moments of international crisis.
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New York Times:
1,500 Reported Killed in Georgia Battle — GORI, Georgia — Russian air attacks over northern Georgia intensified on Saturday morning, striking two apartment buildings in the city of Gori and clogging roads out of the area with fleeing refugees. — Russian authorities said their forces …
Discussion:
The Sundries Shack, Hot Air, Washington Post, baldilocks, A Blog For All, Right Wing Nut House and TIME.com
CNN:
Georgia declares state of war with Russia — TBLISI, Georgia (CNN) — Georgia's parliament Saturday approved a request by President Mikhail Saakashvili's to impose a “state of war,” as the conflict between Georgia and Russia escalated, Georgian officials said.
James Traub / New York Times:
Taunting the Bear — The hostilities between Russia and Georgia that erupted on Friday over the breakaway province of South Ossetia look, in retrospect, almost absurdly over-determined. For years, the Russians have claimed that Georgia's president, Mikheil Saakashvili …
The New European / Transatlantic Politics:
Russia crushes Georgia and Europe's hopes for energy independence — One of the stakes Europe should care about in the Russian invasion of Georgia are its own efforts to reduce energy dependency on Russia. If for no other reason such as Georgia being a NATO ally and the 3d largest contingent in Iraq …
James Joyner / Outside The Beltway:
Kosovo and South Ossetia — Ari Rusila argues that the bloody crisis in South Ossetia is directly tracable to Western backing of Kosovo's secession. While we considered Kosovo's claim “unique,” he argues, “Moscow and [a] few other capitals considered the move a serious step toward …
Discussion:
Pajamas Media
Robert Farley / Lawyers, Guns and Money:
The War for South Ossetia
The War for South Ossetia
Discussion:
Newshoggers.com, Informed Comment, D-Day, A Fistful Of Euros, Danger Room, Defense Tech, The Duck of Minerva, Washington Post and Bloggopher
ABCNEWS:
Mistress' Family Challenges Edwards to Take DNA Test — Sister of Other Woman in Edwards Affair: ‘Stop Bad-Mouthing My Sister’ — The family of John Edwards' former mistress, Rielle Hunter, is challenging the former senator to take a DNA paternity test after his claim that he did not father Hunter's 6-months-old child.
Discussion:
Hot Air, Deceiver.com, DBKP, The Jawa Report, Gawker, A Blog For All, Associated Press, Balloon Juice and Gateway Pundit
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New York Times:
Reticence of Mainstream Media Becomes a Story Itself — For almost 10 months, the story of John Edwards's affair remained the nearly exclusive province of the National Enquirer — through reports, denials, news of a pregnancy, questions about paternity and, finally, a slapstick chase through a hotel in Beverly Hills.
Discussion:
Swampland, JustOneMinute, No More Mister Nice Blog, AMERICAblog News, Gateway Pundit and Corrente
Ben Smith / The Politico:
On adultery, Edwards cites McCain — The full version of Bob Woodruff's interview with John Edwards just aired on ABC, figuring Edwards alternately penitent, defensive, and dismissive of the tabloid reports that unearthed his affair. — He also, in explaining his view that his dalliance …
The Moderate Voice:
10 Thoughts On The John Edwards Affair — (1.) The mainstream media let us down yet again by failing to take seriously first rumors and then credible accounts of the John Edwards-Rielle Hunter affair until there was so much smoke that it's a wonder that all of those notably uncurious political reporters …
Michael Calderone / The Politico:
McCain to national press: You've got 38 minutes — There's no question that John McCain has made a major change in his media strategy. The candidate that once spent hours cracking jokes with reporters, now significantly limits access for the national press corps.
Discussion:
Top of the Ticket
Foon Rhee / Boston Globe:
McCain, Obama go at it on radio — Barack Obama is vacationing in Hawaii, but he and Republican rival John McCain will be jockeying today on the airwaves. — Obama, giving the weekly Democratic radio address, says that this week there have been “two stark examples of exactly what's wrong with Washington.”
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Dr. Helen:
Where have all the Vikings Gone? — This morning, I read the magazine What Is Enlightenment that Glenn picked up for me from a local health food store because the cover had a number of articles about men including “Constructing the New Man,” “19 Powerful Women Tell the Truth about Men,” …
Discussion:
Vox Popoli
Brian Stelter / New York Times:
Tape Delay by NBC Faces End Run by Online Fans — NBC, which owns the exclusive rights to broadcast the Olympics in the United States, spent most of Friday trying to keep it that way. — NBC's decision to delay broadcasting the opening ceremonies by 12 hours sent people across the country …
Discussion:
The Huffington Post