Onward to Tbilisi

Putin's (yes it's still his) Russia rolled into Georgia in a move providentially timed to coincide with the opening of the Olympics in Beijing, whence the sound of fireworks drowned out that of any minor Caucasian gunplay. President Bush was, as we see at left, concerned with more pressing matters of state.

President Bush did get around to commenting on the situation in Georgia later in the day Saturday: "The United States is working with our European partners to launch international mediation, and with the parties to restart their dialogue. Russia needs to support these efforts so that peace can be restored as quickly as possible." I'll bet Putin finds that very convincing. I'm sure he's looking for meaningful dialogue, just like he always is.

But seriously, this is a tough call. Georgian President Saakashvili is our boy, child of Soros even, and his heart is in the right place for sure. But he's a hothead. Most importantly, Georgia is smack dab in the middle of Russia's historical sphere of influence, and with oil still at $120 heading into hurricane season and American troops overextended elsewhere nobody's in a position to get tough with Putin. He's going to do whatever the hell he wants to and tell Medvedev to tell us he did it. That's the dialogue we can expect.