Putin Makes His Move  —  The details of who did what to precipitate Russia's war against Georgia are not very important.  Do you recall the precise details of the Sudeten Crisis that led to Nazi Germany's invasion of Czechoslovakia?  Of course not, because that morally ambiguous dispute …

Wolfson: Edwards' Cover-up Cost Clinton the Nomination  —  Aides Say She Would Have Won Iowa if Edwards Affair was Exposed  —  Sen. Hillary Clinton would be the Democratic presidential nominee if John Edwards had been caught in his lie about an extramarital affair and forced out of the race last year …

7 worrisome signs for Obama  —  A few weeks back, Time magazine was musing that John McCain was in danger of sliding from “a long shot” to a “no-shot.”  Around the same time, a hard-nosed former Hillary Clinton insider declared the race “effectively over” thanks to the McCain campaign's ineptitude …

Obama to McCain: Who's the ‘celebrity?’  —  In the celebrity by association game, which is worse: Paris Hilton or President Bush?  —  Barack Obama is banking on Bush's association with John McCain, targeted in a new campaign TV ad that links, with several big “embraces,” …

Interview of the President by Bob Costas, NBC Sports  —  Beijing, The People's Republic of China  —  Q All right, Al, we thank you.  In a few minutes we'll have more of the women's team qualifying from Sunday afternoon here in Beijing.  But now, live, we're joined by President George W. Bush …

All American Insult  —  Cokie Roberts said today that Obama shouldn't be going on vacation anywhere that has the “look of a foreign exotic place” and should go to Myrtle Beach instead.  Apparently, Hawaii isn't quite American enough for Cokie and her provincial pals in the beltway, even though it's one of the 50 states.

The Color-Coded Campaign  —  Why isn't Obama doing better in the polls?  The answer no one wants to hear.  —  From the eleventh-floor headquarters of Barack Obama's campaign on Michigan Avenue in Chicago, 2008 looks a lot like 1980—with the ideological polarities reversed.

Summer School for Presidential Candidates  —  From watching polls in the presidential race this summer, it would appear that for all the campaign rallies, television advertisements and attacks launched by Senators John McCain and Senator Barack Obama, not much has really changed.

Angelina Jolie's Endorsement  —  It may seem as if most entertainment industry figures are aligning with Barack Obama and just a few with John McCain, but there are still a handful of famous names who are still on the fence.  And both campaigns are well aware of one star who stands out among the undecideds: Angelina Jolie.

Can It Happen Here?  —  The draft Democratic Party platform that was sent out last week puts health care reform front and center.  “If one thing came through in the platform hearings,” says the document, “it was that Democrats are united around a commitment to provide every American access to affordable, comprehensive health care.”

‘No way’ turns into ‘no quit’ for Lezak, men's relay team … BEIJING — Halfway through what might have been the greatest comeback swim in Olympic history, Jason Lezak peered through his goggles at the lane to his right and briefly abandoned hope.  —  “The thought really entered my mind for a split second,” Lezak said.