CNN: Russia to U.S.: Choose us or Georgia
Russia pressed the United States on Wednesday to choose between "a real partnership" with Moscow or an "illusory" relationship with U.S. ally Georgia.

AP: McCain adviser got money from Georgia
John McCain's chief foreign policy adviser and his business partner lobbied the senator or his staff on 49 occasions in a 3 1/2-year span while being paid hundreds of thousands of dollars by the government of the former Soviet republic of Georgia.

WSJ Op-ED: Sen. John McCain: 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. Some Americans may wonder why events in this part of the world are any concern of ours. After all, Georgia is a small, remote and obscure place. But history is often made in remote, obscure places.

Washington Post Op-Ed: Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili: Russia's War Is The West's Challenge
Russia's invasion of Georgia strikes at the heart of Western values and our 21st-century system of security. If the international community allows Russia to crush our democratic, independent state, it will be giving carte blanche to authoritarian governments everywhere. Russia intends to destroy not just a country but an idea.

WSJ: Op-Ed: Obama Economic Advisors Furman and Goolsbee 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.

CNN Radio: Chairman of AR Democrats shot, killed and John McCain continues harsh rhetoric for Russia
The conflict between Georgia and Russia remains the issue driving the presidential race. Also, a tragedy hits the Democratic Party. Bob Costantini has today's CNN Radio Political Ticker.

USA Today: Presidential race one for the books
Best-selling authors and presidential candidates Barack Obama and John McCain again have their names on book jackets — this time in the title only.

LA Times: Mark Warner sees his political star rise
With his selection as keynote speaker at the Democratic National Convention, the former Virginia governor is increasingly viewed as a future presidential contender.

CNN: McCain says Senate allies will head to Georgia
John McCain said Wednesday that two of his strongest Senate supporters, Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman, would be heading to the nation of Georgia in their role as lawmakers, to report back on the conflict in that country.

CNN: Sanchez Commentary: Russian crisis a McCain opportunity, Obama risk
Despite the best work of political handlers and advertising pros in presidential elections, people's perceptions are often shaped by impressions formed by events that are completely out of the campaigns' control.

CNN: 15,000 Russian troops in Georgia, U.S. administration officials say
Russia has likely moved additional troops into Georgia and its breakaway provinces over the past several days, several administration officials told CNN on Wednesday.

CNN: McCain pushes hard line against Russia; aides attack Obama
Sen. John McCain said Wednesday that the crisis in Georgia should not be used to score political points, but his campaign has stepped up its attacks on Sen. Barack Obama's foreign policy credentials.

WSJ: McCain Tech Plan to Continue Hands-Off Approach to Regulation
Under fire for being a technophobe, John McCain will unveil a technology agenda that bundles previously announced pro-business proposals with continued support for a hands-off approach to regulation.

CNN: Source: Powell has not decided on presidential endorsement
Colin Powell's office denied a report on Fox by commentator Bill Kristol Wednesday that the retired general had decided to publicly back Sen. Barack Obama at the Democratic National Convention.

USA Today: Mich. Republicans make pitches for McCain VP
John McCain came to Michigan on Wednesday to raise money. But some Michigan Republicans had another agenda: lobbying for native son and former Massachusetts governor Mitt Romney as McCain's running mate.

Bloomberg: Obama Woos Abortion Foes With Platform Embracing Motherhood
Democratic presidential candidate Barack Obama and his supporters are working to win over voters who want to ban or reduce abortions with a call for measures to help women keep their babies.

NY Times: Social Security Too Hot to Touch? Not in 2008
Ignoring the warnings that Social Security can derail political careers, Senator John McCain has infuriated his party’s right wing by saying that “everything has to be on the table” in discussions about keeping Social Security solvent.

WSJ: Candidates Court 'Big Business Brands'
Jason Furman, Barack Obama's economic-policy director, is spending this weekend in the tony Hamptons outside New York, as will many top Wall Street executives. But he won't be relaxing. Instead he will be explaining the Democrat's tax policies in small business gatherings and celebrity-studded fund-raisers.

NY Times: As Donors, Lobbyists Often Favor One Party
Before Congress adopted a new ethics law requiring lobbyists to detail their campaign giving, the conventional wisdom had been that most lobbyists hedged their bets by donating freely to members of both parties.

Financial Times: US candidates resist diluting climate plans
Voters in Indiana last week asked Barack Obama what his highest priorities would be in his "first 1,000 days in office". Ahead of universal healthcare and ending the Iraq war, the first item on Mr Obama's list was comprehensive energy reform.

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.

AP: Cheney attends fundraiser for Colo House candidate
Vice President Dick Cheney has made a brief visit to Colorado to raise money for Republican congresswoman Marilyn Musgrave. Cheney's office says he flew into Buckley Air Force Base just east of Denver Wednesday morning and went to the private fundraiser in suburban Littleton.

Washington Post: Detroit Mayor Hopes Judge Will Let Him Further Shame Democrats
Detroit's embattled mayor, Kwame Kilpatrick, a superdelegate to the Democratic National Convention, is holding out the possibility that he'll actually be able to go to Denver this month. In other words, the "hip-hop mayor" could get a new nickname: the Most Unwanted Man at the convention. (Besides maybe John Edwards.)

Denver Post: Abortion foe to speak to Democrats
Sen. Bob Casey of Pennsylvania, a Democrat who opposes abortion rights, will be a featured speaker at the party's national convention, officials said Wednesday.

Denver Post: Obama-speech ticket holders to be notified Thursday
Coloradans will begin to be notified Thursday whether they won seats for the Democratic National Convention's big night at Invesco Field at Mile High, campaign officials said today.

Thedenverchannel.com: Some DNC Tickets A Scam; Tickets For Sale Before Being Printed
A lot of rumors and questions are floating around about tickets for the Democratic National Convention and concerns that scammers trying to sell bogus tickets. Web sites like Craigslist and Ebay have posts advertising tickets for sale to the DNC. Some are legitimate, but others are not.

Denver Post: Nader opens Denver office.
Consumer activist and independent presidential candidate Ralph Nader has opened an office in Denver in hopes of attracting support needed to participate in debates this fall. The office, at 1155 Sherman St., has three employees and several volunteers.

The Hill: Jesse Jackson’s convention streak in doubt
The Rev. Jesse Jackson has spoken at every Democratic convention since 1984, but that streak may come to an end this year.

Washington Post: Va., Warner on National Stage; Speech Could Boost Democrats in 2 Races
Wednesday's announcement that former Virginia governor Mark R. Warner will deliver the keynote address at the Democratic National Convention this month thrusts him and the battleground state of Virginia further into the national spotlight.

USA Today: Clinton supporters debate merits of roll call vote
It may be Barack Obama's party, but that may not prevent an emotional show of support for former rival Hillary Rodham Clinton at the Democratic National Convention later this month.

East Valley Tribune: Napolitano to speak at Democratic Convention
Gov. Janet Napolitano is being billed as one of the featured speakers during the Democratic National Convention in Denver later this month. But she's not going to be the headliner that night. In fact, it's not even clear whether she'll get to speak when the networks are still covering the event.

Boston Herald: Deval Patrick to address Democratic Convention
Gov. Deval Patrick has landed a speaking slot at the Democratic National Convention. The state’s first black governor will address delegates on Tuesday, Aug. 26, the same night Hillary Rodham Clinton will speak. Her speech coincides with the 88th anniversary of a woman’s right to vote.

NY Times: Gay Candidate Wins a Colorado Primary
Jared Polis, a 33-year-old openly gay entrepreneur from Boulder, beat two opponents on Tuesday night to win the Democratic primary to fill Representative Mark Udall’s seat in Congress.

Rocky Mountain News: DNC prisoners won't be turned out into nearby neighborhood
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.

Denver post: Sen. Salazar added to DNC speaker list
Colorado Sen. Ken Salazar will be among the speakers who nominates Sen. Barack Obama for the presidency at the Democratic National Convention — but will not be doing so as the vice presidential nominee.

Rocky Mountain News: Preacher left at the altar for convention
Fidel "Butch" Montoya is a forgiving soul, being a man of the cloth. But that doesn't mean he can't get upset. And he is upset — at the Barack Obama campaign and the Democratic National Convention Committee. So upset, he's looking at supporting Obama's rival, Republican John McCain.

NY Times: G.O.P. in House at Risk in Northeast
Across the increasingly Democratic Northeast, Republicans are in danger of losing half a dozen or more Congressional seats in November, as even districts once considered safe have become vulnerable to well-financed Democrats, according to political analysts and members of both parties.

NY Times: 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.

Washington Post: Republicans' Fortunes Falling in Nevada
The scandal-plagued Republican governor is so politically toxic that few of his party's prominent candidates will be seen with him. The GOP's most powerful state senator survived a tough primary after 36 years of never even facing a credible opponent. And the party may quickly be losing its grip on a state that could be critical to the outcome of the presidential election.

San Francisco Chronicle: Pelosi blasts Lieberman
House Speaker Nancy Pelosi blasted Sen. Joe Lieberman today for making what she called "totally irresponsible" remarks about Democrat Barack Obama, which she warned could prompt Senate Democrats to strip him of his committee chairmanship.

WSJ: Greenspan Sees Bottom In Housing, Criticizes Bailout
Alan Greenspan usually surrounds his opinions with caveats and convoluted clauses. But ask his view of the government's response to problems confronting mortgage giants Fannie Mae and Freddie Mac, and he offers one word: "Bad."

WSJ: Cyberattacks on Georgian Web Sites Are Reigniting a Washington Debate
The cyberattacks in Georgia are re-energizing a debate over whether the laws of war apply in cyberspace. Among the biggest questions: When is a cyberattack an act of war?

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 in the case, according to sources briefed on the probe.

USA Today: Daschle buys Ivins as sole culprit in 2001 anthrax attacks
Former Senate majority leader Tom Daschle, whose Senate office received the first anthrax-tainted letter in 2001, says he is satisfied the FBI has found the culprit.

CNN: Minorities expected to be majority in 2050
By 2050, minorities will be the majority in America, and the number of residents older than 65 will more than double, according to projections released Thursday by the U.S. Census Bureau.