Lieberman: Obama Has Not Always Put Country First  —  YORK, Pa. - One of the McCain campaign's new themes, that Senator John McCain has always put his country first, has been seem by some analysts as a subtle suggestion that his opponent, Senator Barack Obama, has not.

Sullivan's Travels  —  In a post early this morning, Andrew Sullivan concludes with this: … This highlighted statement is an astonishing one.  The clear implication is that what America did in going to war with Iraq is the moral equivalent of what Russia has done to Georgia.

GOP Rep. To Environmentalists: Jesus Already Saved The Planet  —  We like to keep track of the, er, intriguing sayings of Congresswoman Michele Bachmann, the Christian Right champion from Minnesota.  But this latest is really out there — Bachmann says we don't need pesky environmentalists …

Limbaugh: “Edwards might be attracted to a woman whose mouth did something other than talk”  —  On the August 12 broadcast of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh said of former Sen. John Edwards' recent disclosure of an extramarital affair: “I've got a theory about the motivations.

Obama Salute Creator Hits Back at Critics  —  At first, Rick Husong was stunned by the overwhelming wave of negative and sometimes crude reactions to his bid revealed in Whispers last week to build a pro-Sen. Barack Obama movement around a hand salute dubbed the Big-O. Among the hundreds …

Celebrities Fight Back  —  Obama's celebrity friends are bringing their considerable resources to bear in this election, hosting fundraisers at their estates in Geneva, offering advice on Middle East policy, and now threatening this campaign with legal action over our latest ad, “Fan Club.”

Two Cheers for Russia's Invasion of Georgia  —  The thoughts of a former expert on the former Soviet Union—that would be me, to crib a line from geopolitical guru Thomas Barnett—about the Russian invasion of Georgia:  —  1) It would be great if clarity came cheap.  Sometimes it does, but often it doesn't.

Mukasey: No prosecutions in Justice hiring scandal  —  NEW YORK - No criminal prosecutions are planned for former Justice Department officials accused of allowing politics to influence the hiring of prosecutors, immigration judges and other career government lawyers, Attorney General Michael Mukasey said Tuesday.

BACKGROUNDERS: SITUATION REPORT, RUSSO-GEORGIAN CONFLICT  —  Situation Report, Russo-Georgian Conflict  —  • Russia has announced a unilateral ceasefire because its operations have achieved their aims.  —  • Medvedev and Sarkozy have drafted a document that encapsulates …

Presidential Race Tightens as Faith Voters Rethink  —  Their Preference  —  (Ventura, California) - A new nationwide survey of people's candidate preference conducted by The Barna Group some movement over the past two months, with Sen. Obama maintaining a substantial 43% to 34% lead among …

McCain ignoring calls to cancel controversial fundraiser  —  Republican presidential candidate John McCain so far is ignoring calls from several watchdog groups to cancel an Atlanta fundraiser promoted by Ralph Reed, a longtime friend and business partner of imprisoned lobbyist Jack Abramoff.

Alleged Mata Hari of Al Qaeda Could Provide ‘Treasure Trove’ of Intelligence  —  Aafia Siddique Had a List of Targets in New York & Chem-Bio Weapons Information in her Possession  —  When she was arrested in Afghanistan last month, Aafia Siddique allegedly had in her possession maps of New York …

An Empty Promise  —  Senator John Kerry was on the phone and the words were coming in a rush.  —  “It's a completely fraudulent argument,” he said.  “It's misleading.  It's snake oil salesmanship of the worst order.”  —  He was talking about the latest smoke screen in the presidential election …

POW mate calls McCain ‘liar’ over ‘turncoat’ charge  —  Retired Marine colonel angered by candidate's statements that he helped enemy while 2 were in Vietnamese prison camp.  —  Recommend  —  Former Orange County Supervisor Edison Miller is lashing out at John McCain …

Sen. Hagel won't be endorsing a presidential candidate  —  Sen. Chuck Hagel, a Nebraska Republican who is one of John McCain's closest friends — but who has been mentioned as a potential running mate for Democrat Barack Obama — is sitting out the presidential contest, according to his spokesman, Jordan Stark.

Today's Campaign Contest: Count the Young White Women in McCain's Anti-Obama Video  —  How many young white women professing adoration for Sen. Barack Obama, D-Illinois, can you count in this anti-Obama web video that the campaign of Sen. John McCain, R-Ariz, was sending out yesterday?