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.

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 …

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 …

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.

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:

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.

Laser Gunship Fires; ‘Deniable’ Strikes Ahead?  —  Boeing announced today the first ever test firing of a real-life ray gun that could become US special forces' way to carry out covert strikes with “plausible deniability.”  —  In tests earlier this month at Kirtland Air Force Base, New Mexico …

Charismatic Governor Rises to the Short List  —  The turning point in Tim Kaine's campaign for Virginia governor in 2005 was an advertisement by his opponent featuring a father whose son had been murdered by a man Mr. Kaine represented on death row.  —  “Tim Kaine says that Adolf Hitler …

Leave It To Weaver  —  What John McCain's former chief strategist thinks of his campaign. … The place where I was meeting John Weaver was all wrong—a nondescript office building on F Street in downtown Washington, near Ford's Theatre, where Lincoln was shot.

Conventional Nonsense  —  MAKING THE CASE FOR A PRESS BOYCOTT OF THE NATIONAL POLITICAL CONVENTIONS.  —  With just one exception over the last three decades, the two major parties have known the identity of their likely presidential candidate weeks or even months before gaveling their national political conventions open.

Detention center for protesters won't free them nearby  —  Denver officials and the sheriff's department said Wednesday that they will not release prisoners taken into custody during the Democratic National Convention into the neighborhood surrounding a temporary detention facility.

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 …