From the Providence Journal, Thursday, August 28:

From the Los Angeles Times on Wednesday, Aug. 26:

On inauguration day, a new U.S. president is a demigod, the embodiment of aspirations as vast as they are varied. Over the course of the years that follow, the president inevitably fails to fulfill those hopes. So the cycle begins anew, and Americans look to the next occupant of the Oval Office to undo his predecessor's mistakes and usher in an era of lasting peace and sustained prosperity.

Robert B. Zoellick

During a recent visit to Afghanistan, I was reminded of the counterinsurgency principles of "clear, hold, build." In the language of the World Bank Group, that translates to "security, governance and development." As events in Iraq have shown, who assumes responsibility for these principles is as important as the principles themselves: Local ownership is key to achieving legitimacy and effectiveness.

Rod Dreher

Read the first five paragraphs of the NATO statement on the Russian invasion of Georgia and you will find not a hint of who invaded whom. The statement is almost comically evenhanded. "We deplore all loss of life," it declared, as if deploring a bus accident. And, it "expressed its grave concern over the situation in Georgia." Situation, mind you.

From the Washington Post, Friday, Aug. 22:

From the Christian Science Monitor, Friday, Aug. 22:

11Sure, these Olympics were mainly about the 10,500 athletes, especially superstars such as Michael "fish-man" Phelps and Usain "Lightning" Bolt, and notably China's government-trained athletes. Beijing the city was mostly an efficient but largely colorless backdrop.

11Okay, I'm exaggerating, but, really, the Obama campaign wouldn't mind. Ledbetter was on the losing end of a Supreme Court case last year on equal pay. A manager at a Goodyear tire plant in Alabama, she consistently received smaller raises than her male counterparts. The Supreme Court threw out her suit because, the five-justice majority said, she waited too long to complain, even though she didn't know about the pay difference earlier.