In remarks yesterday, President Bush strongly criticized Russia's actions in Georgia. Though press analyses widely suggest that the US has little leverage in the region, this morning the Russians announced a halt to the invasion, saying they had "punished" the Georgians. Meanwhile, the Wall Street Journal reports "criticism is mounting that the Bush administration didn't do enough to manage its strategic relationship with Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili -- and keep him out of trouble." The Journal adds "many officials in the US government who have worked on the Russia relationship in recent years said...Bush lionized Mr. Saakashvili as a model for democracy in the region to a point that the Georgian leader may have held unrealistic expectations about the amount of support he might receive from the US and the West." These officials "also point to a lack of clarity governing the US-Georgia military relationship" and said Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice "seemed so preoccupied with Iraq, Iran and the Arab-Israeli conflict that she didn't have time to fashion an effective response to Russia's muscle-flexing on its borders."
In similar reporting, the AP says that while the US "saw trouble coming between Russia and Georgia" it "didn't have enough leverage, focus or resolve to intervene. Even Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice, a specialist on the old Soviet Union, may have misjudged the combustible combination of Russian grievance and ambition." The AP also reports that the "Bush administration's assurances of solidarity with a young democracy also may have given Georgia's silver-tongued, US-educated leader a little too much swagger as he picked a playground fight he never could win on his own." AFP, meanwhile, says "Washington has little room for maneuver in the Caucasus conflict amid perceptions that it helped fuel the crisis by over-inflating Georgia's hopes of US support for its young democracy, analysts say."
ABC World News noted that while the US "does have interests to protect" in Georgia, it "can't afford to alienate Russia," and there is "no doubt Vladimir Putin is well aware of that." The AP reports that in his "strongest comments" on the subject yet, Bush "demanded that Russia...agree to an immediate cease-fire and accept international mediation to end the crisis in the former Soviet republic." But the Washington Post notes that "beyond a reference to damage inflicted upon 'Russia's standing in the world,' Bush made no mention of any potential consequences if Russia fails to comply." US officials, meanwhile, "made clear that neither the United States nor NATO was contemplating a military response to Russian actions." The Los Angeles Times and USA Today run similar reports on Bush's comments, while the AP, New York Times, Washington Post, AFP, Los Angeles Times, Christian Science Monitor and McClatchy, among other news outlets, report on the latest military developments.
How Will The US Respond? On its front page, the Los Angeles Times says "the administration signaled Monday that any retribution would be aimed at the Russian economy and prestige." The US has "few palatable military options, said administration officials who requested anonymity when discussing internal policy decisions. ... A senior Pentagon official" tells the Times, "Just because we are not rushing to place US infantry in Tbilisi does not mean the world is impotent in the face of this aggression." Adds the Times, "Officials said the most likely ways to pressure Russia were through global institutions. Russia is attempting to join the World Trade Organization and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. Membership now is likely to be blocked, they said. " And "others raised the possibility of kicking Russia out of the Group of 8, the annual gathering of leading industrialized nations."
Meanwhile, at the UN yesterday, the Wall Street Journal reports, "US efforts to press its case in the United Nations failed to gain traction. The UN Security Council has met five times since hostilities broke out Thursday, with little concrete result." And the New York Times says "the United States and its European allies...seemed uncertain how to adjust to a new geopolitical game that threatened to undermine two decades of democratic gains in countries that once were part of the Soviet sphere."
Putin Suggests US "Trying To Interfere" The New York Times notes that while Administration officials "said military options were almost certainly off the table," the US "did airlift Georgian troops stationed in Iraq back home, answering a plea from the Georgian government and prompting a sharp response from Russia." The Financial Times reports that Putin "lashed out at the US for airlifting Georgian troops to the conflict from Iraq," calling it "a shame that some of our partners are not helping us, and are trying to interfere." The Los Angeles Times notes Putin also charged that the US "has displayed a 'Cold War mentality' in its friendship with leaders in Tbilisi."
Under the headline "Kremlin Casts Maneuver As Form Of Defense," the Wall Street Journal reports "Russia's handling of the crisis highlights the continuing dominance of Vladimir Putin over Russia's foreign policy, even after he formally ceded the presidency to his longtime confidant Dmitry Medvedev." The Journal notes that "since Mr. Putin came to power in 2000, he has worked to reassert Russia's dominance in and around the borders of the former Soviet Union." In a similar front page story, the New York Times reports Putin, "who came to office brooding over the wounds of a humiliated Russia, this week offered proof of its resurgence."
Gorbachev Is Back, Blaming Georgia Amid talk of a return to the "Cold War," a key figure in its last chapter is back in the news today. Former Soviet President Mikhail Gorbachev, in an op-ed running in today's Washington Post and in Russia's Rossiyskaya Gazeta newspaper, says "the roots of this tragedy lie in the decision of Georgia's separatist leaders in 1991 to abolish South Ossetian autonomy. This turned out to be a time bomb for Georgia's territorial integrity," which "through all these years, Russia has continued to recognize." The former Soviet leader says "the only way to solve the South Ossetian problem on that basis is through peaceful means. Indeed, in a civilized world, there is no other way," and "the Georgian leadership flouted this key principle. What happened on the night of Aug. 7 is beyond comprehension. The Georgian military attacked the South Ossetian capital of Tskhinvali with multiple rocket launchers designed to devastate large areas. Russia had to respond. To accuse it of aggression against 'small, defenseless Georgia' is not just hypocritical but shows a lack of humanity."
The New York Times reports, "As he prepares to become the senior American commander in Iraq, Lt. Gen. Raymond T. Odierno said Monday that over the next year he hoped to recommend significant reductions in the number of American troops stationed there. He acknowledged, however, that political developments -- like the recent delay in scheduling regional elections -- would influence the troop reductions as much as the level of attacks." Odierno "said his priorities would include continuing to suppress violence by terrorists who claim allegiance to Al Qaeda, and preventing hard-line Shiite militias from setting up a parallel system of civil services to rival the central government in Baghdad."
Former Official: Iraq War Over, But US Must Be Cautious Bing West, a former assistant secretary of defense and combat Marine, writes in the Wall Street Journal, "The war I witnessed for more than five years in Iraq is over. ... For the first time in 15 trips across the country, I didn't hear one shot or a single blast from a roadside bomb." However, "the progress in Iraq is most threatened by a political promise in the US to remove all American combat brigades, against the advice of our military commanders. ... With victory in sight, why would we quit? The steady -- but not total -- withdrawal of US troops from Iraq is freeing up forces to fight in Afghanistan. But Afghanistan is not the central front in the war on terror. Al Qaeda is hiding in Pakistan, a nation we are not going to invade."
The Wall Street Journal reports, "Stocks finished a back-and-forth session with a small gain Monday as oil prices slipped despite fighting between Russia and Georgia." The Dow Jones "opened lower but recovered to post a 133-point gain at its intraday high," and at the end of the session had "climbed 48.03 points, or 0.4%, to 11782.35, down 11.2% on the year." Meanwhile, "the technology-focused Nasdaq Composite Index rose 1.1% to 2439.95, down 8% on the year," and "the S&P 500 rose 0.7% to 1305.32, off 11.1% on the year."
The Financial Times notes "investors cheered another drop in the oil price." The AP reports "oil prices finished at a new three-month low Monday after briefly dropping below $113 a barrel mark, as the dollar extended its rebound and more signs emerged that China's energy demand could be leveling off." The Wall Street Journal and AFP runs similar stories on the slide in oil prices.
Meanwhile, the Financial Times also reports "the dollar hit a six-month high against the euro amid a growing realisation that the US economy was not deteriorating as quickly as others across the globe. The dollar rose to a peak of $1.4881 against the euro, its strongest level since February, and hit a 21-month high of $1.9070 against the pound." The New York Times says all these "developments extended similar moves on Friday and were welcomed on Wall Street, where stocks ended higher despite a discouraging report on credit from the Federal Reserve." However, "the favorable moves in commodities and currencies may not be a sign that a financial recovery is just around the corner. What is driving the reversals, analysts said, may be widespread expectation that the global economy will suffer even more. ... In other words, it's not that the American economy is getting better. It's that other countries may be doing worse."
Drop In Gas Prices Expected To Continue USA Today reports, "Gasoline prices will likely continue to fall in the next few weeks as lower oil costs and reduced demand push the price at the pump lower. But a steep drop is unlikely." The US average "will likely fall another 6 cents to 15 cents in the next few weeks and will be as low as $3.50 in some parts of the country, based on the recent drop in oil prices, OPIS analyst Tom Kloza says." However, "prices are unlikely to stage a massive decline."
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Sen. Barack Obama is up on the air with an ad hitting back at Sen. John McCain's spots painting him as a celebrity with little experience. The Los Angeles Times, meanwhile, reports, "Remember past presidential campaigns when candidates rushed to avoid the dreaded label 'liberal'? Well, this year, the epithet of choice is 'celebrity.'" Obama's latest ad accuses McCain "of being a 'celebrity' in Washington political circles. ... 'For decades, he's been Washington's biggest celebrity,' the announcer says of McCain in the Obama ad, titled 'Embrace.' It then shows the introduction of the Arizona Republican during an appearance on 'Saturday Night Live.'" The CBS Evening News notes the spot "also features six different shots of Senator McCain next to President Bush."
An emerging theme in the media is that Obama is responding to McCain's earlier attacks because they have been effective. The Washington Post says the new spot "comes as some Democrats have worried that the Obama campaign has not responded strongly enough to McCain's recent attacks, both in ads and on the stump." The AP reports, "In a presidential campaign freighted with war, recession and energy woes, a jibe featuring Paris Hilton, of all things, seems to have struck a nerve" in Obama, and it "suggests McCain is making some headway in trying to fight the campaign on his terms." The Los Angeles Times notes, "It's worth remembering that Obama said McCain's celebrity-themed ads and another calling him 'The One' were desperate -- the equivalent of 'fifth-grade' name-calling. His new ad suggests that his aides are worried that even fifth-grade strategies may be having some effect in the campaign."
With the Russo-Georgian war filling the non-Olympic newshole in the last several media cycles, speculation is building that the focus may help Sen. John McCain's campaign. McCain, long a critic of Russian Prime Minister Vladimir Putin, "set the initial tone" for American politicians in responding to the crisis "with a strong statement last Friday several hours before official word from the administration and then again on Monday morning with a shopping list of tough policy responses for Mr Bush," the Financial Times reports. The Hill reports that McCain's camp is "pressing the argument that the escalating conflict in Georgia verifies the Republican's foreign policy judgment and gives him a boost against his Democratic opponent." The Los Angeles Times says Obama "faces challenges as he tries to stake out a more conciliatory foreign policy that includes his willingness to negotiate with enemies. His softer language toward Moscow leaves him open to criticism at a time when the U.S. is clearly aligned with Georgia, an emerging democracy."
Yesterday, both McCain and Barack Obama called for diplomatic initiatives. The AP notes both McCain and Obama "called for a multi-pronged diplomatic effort to force Russia to withdraw from Georgia, saying Moscow's relationship with the rest of the world depends on it backing down. Both candidates said Europe and other nations must be united against Russia's widening assault against Georgia." The Hill reports McCain "called on the United Nations Security Council to condemn Russia's aggression against Georgia."
The Erie Times & News reports Sen. John McCain toured a local GE plant with former Pennsylvania Gov. Tom Ridge, a Republican who's name has been floated by some as a possible running mate. However, the Los Angeles Times reports that while Ridge has been mentioned as a potential VP candidate, McCain "hinted Monday, perhaps unintentionally, that Ridge might not be on his short list. During a visit to a General Electric plant in Erie, Pa., with Ridge in earshot, McCain was asked what he would do in his first 90 days in office. He replied, 'Call Tom Ridge to Washington from whatever vacation he's taking and get him to work.'" The Washington Post reports on McCain's Ridge comment under the headline "McCain Hints Ridge Would Stay Backstage." Furthermore, the Philadelphia Inquirer reports, "In an interview, Ridge said he had not been 'vetted' for vice president and had not discussed the job with McCain, even at dinner Sunday night at Smuggler's Wharf in Erie, where they met for a meal of yellow perch with Ridge's wife, Michele, and his daughter, Lesley. 'If you cast a universal net, my name might be on the list' of potential candidates, Ridge said. 'But as the list narrows, I don't have a clue who's on and who's off. I know one thing: John will make a sound decision.'"
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The Politico reports this morning that PowerPAC.org, a "Democratic-leaning" group based in California, says it plans to spend $10 million taking down John McCain and boosting Barack Obama. The group, which already aided Obama in the Democratic primary, is planning a voter registration drive in African-American communities in the south, and a Hispanic registration drive in the west.
The Gallup daily presidential tracking poll of 2,648 registered voters taken August 8-10 shows Barack Obama leading John McCain 47%-42%, up from a 46%-43% lead the previous day. In the Rasmussen Reports automated daily presidential tracking poll, Obama leads McCain 45%-43% and 48%-46% including leaners.
A SurveyUSA automated poll of 655 likely Virginia voters taken August 8-10 shows John McCain leading Barack Obama 48%-47%.
Obama Up By 5 In Iowa. A Rasmussen Reports automated poll of 700 likely Iowa voters taken August 7 shows Obama leading McCain 46%-41%, down from a 48%-38% lead a month before.
In the Washington Post's "On K Street" column, which focuses on lobbyists and lobbying, reporter Jeffrey H. Birnbaum says "attacks from the presidential wannabes" John McCain and Barack Obama "and the likelihood that Congress will become even more Democratic -- read: more activist -- means that many corporate interests will face increased danger next year and will have to employ more of the people whose job is to protect them -- lobbyists." Former Rep. Richard H. Baker, president of the Managed Funds Association, said, "Next year will seem like 10 years." The Post adds that in "anticipation, his group, which lobbies for hedge funds, has more than doubled the number of lobbying firms it normally hires." The Post adds health care "will probably be an early focus, especially if Obama wins."
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Craig Ferguson: "According to rumors, John McCain and Barack Obama are trying to get Angelina Jolie's endorsement for the campaign, and John Edwards is just trying to get her number."
Craig Ferguson: "The Chinese faked parts of the opening" ceremony of the Olympics by making "the fireworks look more lively for television. It's the same technology they use for John McCain."
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