Top Items:
John McCain / Wall Street Journal:
We Are All Georgians — For anyone who thought that stark international aggression was a thing of the past, the last week must have come as a startling wake-up call. After clashes in the Georgian region of South Ossetia, Russia invaded its neighbor, launching attacks that threaten its very existence.
Discussion:
The Swamp, Washington Post, The Caucus, At-Largely, Gateway Pundit, Hot Air, The Carpetbagger Report and TIME.com
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Seumas Milne / Guardian:
This is a tale of US expansion not Russian aggression — It's likely to be a taste of things to come — The outcome of six grim days of bloodshed in the Caucasus has triggered an outpouring of the most nauseating hypocrisy from western politicians and their captive media.
Andrew E. Kramer / New York Times:
Peace Plan Offers Russia a Rationale to Advance — TBILISI, Georgia — It was nearly 2 a.m. on Wednesday when President Nicolas Sarkozy of France announced he had accomplished what seemed virtually impossible: Persuading the leaders of Georgia and Russia to agree to a set of principles that would stop the war.
Discussion:
The Reaction, The New Republic, Times of London, Guardian, RIA Novosti, Hot Air, The Moderate Voice, BitsBlog and Prairie Weather
Charles Krauthammer / Real Clear Politics:
How to Stop Putin — WASHINGTON — The Russia-Georgia cease-fire brokered by France's president is less than meets the eye. Its terms keep moving as the Russian army keeps moving. Russia has since occupied Gori (appropriately, Stalin's birthplace), effectively cutting Georgia in two.
Karl Rove / Wall Street Journal:
I See Four Key Battleground States — Presidential campaigns ultimately come down to who can win 270 Electoral College votes. With most states favoring one candidate or the other, this year's contest could come down to a few battleground states. — Based on visits this past week …
Discussion:
TownHall Blog, Commentary, At-Largely, Booman Tribune, www.redstate.com, Sister Toldjah, MSNBC, PoliPundit.com and TIME.com
Marc Ambinder:
Clinton's Name Likely To Be Placed In Nomination; Agreement Near With Obama Campaign — Reports of strife between negotiators for Sen. Hillary Clinton and Sen. Barack Obama are exaggerated and the two sides are nearing an agreement on how Clinton's delegates will participate …
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blogs, TPM Election Central, Corrente, FOX Embeds, Liberal Values, Deadline USA, TIME.com, Outside The Beltway, marbury and Balloon Juice
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Mark Bieganski / The Oprah blog:
Confirmed: Oprah Winfrey plans to be there when Barack Obama accepts nomination
Confirmed: Oprah Winfrey plans to be there when Barack Obama accepts nomination
Discussion:
Ben Smith's Blogs
Andrew Sullivan / The Daily Dish:
The Neocons And The Soviets — It's very bizarre to read the neocons' speaking about Russia as if the Soviet Union were still in existence. Here's a classic slice of the mindset from Max Boot, who wants a third little war in the Caucasus: … Condi Rice, who really should know better, said:
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Josh Marshall / Talking Points Memo:
PUT NOT YOUR FAITH IN AEI — Andrew Sullivan, who's been on a tear on this story, has another good post on the bankrupt posturing of the neocons, jumping at the hopes of a new Cold War with the Russians, despite the lack of the ideological underpinnings on which we fought …
Walter Shapiro / Salon:
Johnny, I hardly knew ye — After covering John Edwards — and liking him — for years, what I thought I knew about him was wrong. But reporters often misjudge candidates. — John Edwards at his South Carolina primary night rally in Columbia, S.C., on Jan. 26, 2008.
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Eli Saslow / Washington Post:
New Books Aim To Unweave the Obama Narrative — In two autobiographies and dozens of speeches, Barack Obama has weaved the narrative that defines his campaign: An introspective boy gradually comes to terms with his mixed-race heritage and emerges with an “unprejudiced” worldview.
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Luke Rosiak / OpenSecrets.org:
Troops Deployed Abroad Give 6:1 to Obama — During World War II, soldiers crouching in foxholes penned letters assuring their sweethearts that they'd be home soon. Now, between firefights in the Iraqi desert, some infantrymen have been sending a different kind of mail stateside …
Wall Street Journal:
The Obama Tax Plan — Even as Barack Obama proposes fiscally responsible tax reform to strengthen our economy and restore the balance that has been lost in recent years, we hear the familiar protests and distortions from the guardians of the broken status quo.
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Josh Flory / Knoxville News-Sentinel:
N.C. congressman Shuler, TVA swap land — U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., on panel that oversees federal agency — TVA has approved a water-access deal for a development group whose investors include U.S. Rep. Heath Shuler, D-N.C., who sits on a committee that exercises oversight of the federal utility.
Carrie Johnson / Washington Post:
Hair Samples in Anthrax Case Don't Match — Strands From Mailbox in Princeton Are Not From Ivins, Investigators Say — Federal investigators probing the deadly 2001 anthrax attacks recovered samples of human hair from a mailbox in Princeton, N.J., but the strands did not match the lead suspect …
Amanda / Think Progress:
McCain's gets confused about the conflict in Georgia. — Today, Sen. John McCain (R-AZ) begins his Wall Street Journal op-ed titled “We Are All Georgians” with a warning about the seriousness of the recent conflict between Georgia and Russia: … Perhaps McCain is giving himself a wake-up call …