Russian Troops Tighten Hold on Georgia  —  GORI, Georgia — Russian troops that had poured into the disputed territory of South Ossetia moved up to the border with Georgia on Sunday, as the conflict appeared to be developing into the worst clashes between Russia and a foreign military since the invasion of Afghanistan in 1979.

Clinton told to portray Obama as foreign  —  Mark Penn, the top campaign strategist for Hillary Rodham Clinton's campaign, advised her to portray Barack Obama as having a “limited” connection “to basic American values and culture,” according to a forthcoming article in The Atlantic.

87°  —  The rise and fall of John Edwards  —  When veteran Democratic strategist Bob Shrum first met John Edwards in 1997, he saw in the accomplished trial lawyer a raw political talent.  —  “I called my partners and said.  ‘I think I just met a future president of the United States,’” Shrum recalls.

But He Gave Up Golf  —  US President George W. Bush plays beach volleyball with US beach volleyball player Misty May Treanor during a visit to the US team at Beijing's Chaoyang Park Beach on August 9, 2008.  By Thomas Coex/AFP/Getty Images.  An even classier pic can be seen here.

Feingold remains a McCain admirer  —  He favors Obama's views but likes GOP candidate  —  Washington - If Republican John McCain needs someone to vouch for his independence, he could easily do worse than Senate colleague Russ Feingold of Wisconsin, a liberal Democrat from a key battleground state.

US Election 2008: The joke is finally on Barack Obama  —  Have you heard the one about the presidential candidate who was once so popular that comedians were frightened to make jokes about him?  —  The punchline is this: the more seriously he took himself, the more Barack Obama has become a laughing matter.

Voters in Valley fleeing the GOP  —  Republican Party rapidly losing its advantage in registration after reaching its peak in 2004.  —  The Republican Party, which overtook Valley Democrats in voter registration totals eight years ago, is losing ground for the first time in at least a decade.

Iraq demands “very clear” U.S. troop timeline  —  BAGHDAD (Reuters) - The United States must provide a “very clear timeline” to withdraw its troops from Iraq as part of an agreement allowing them to stay beyond this year, Iraqi Foreign Minister Hoshiyar Zebari said on Sunday.

What's the answer to this?  —  A commenter here on Friday noted what appears to be a rather glaring contradiction in the case against Bruce Ivins.  In response to criticisms that the FBI's case contains no evidence placing Ivins in New Jersey, where the anthrax letters were sent …