Obama advisor and former ambassador to Israel Daniel Kurtzer tells Eli Lake about his conversation with Syrian Foreign Minister Walid al-Moallem while on a trip to the region. A possible peace deal between Damascus and Jerusalem came up, naturally. The New York Sun, August 20.

The latest on the Obama VP watch is that Barack will appear in Washington on Saturday with his choice. Joe Biden, Tim Kaine, Evan Bayh and Kathleen Sebelius are believed to be the ones in the running. McCain's top choices are said to include Tim Pawlenty, Mitt Romney, Tom Ridge and Joe Lieberman. USA Today, August 20.

It appears that both presidential candidates don't see the U.S.-Russia relationship improving anytime soon. McCain advisor Steven Biegun says "It's going to be in pretty bad shape for the next president of the United States"; Obama aide Michael McFaul is concerned about the lack of American leverage. Reuters UK, August 19.

Gerald Seib of the Wall Street Journal thinks that people should be focusing on what the candidates would have done before the Georgia-Russia war, not what they're saying now. McCain advisor Randy Scheunemann says the West should have been tougher on Moscow; Obama aide Tony Lake argues more engagement was the answer. August 19.

McCain advisor Robert Kagan says that "history's back"-the West needs to have more spine and confront revisionist, autocratic powers like Russia. The Weekly Standard, August 25 issue.

Barack Obama looks to be ready to pick a running mate. Will he go with Sen. Joe Biden, in an attempt to counteract his perceived foreign-policy weakness? Agence France-Presse, August 19.

Addressing the controversy over advisor Randy Scheunemann, whose lobbying firm has come under scrutiny for representing the Georgian government, John McCain said he's "proud" of his top advisor. USA Today, August 18.

Who will be the next secretary of state? Joe Biden seems to be a possibility for Obama; Bob Gates and Richard Lugar could head Foggy Bottom if McCain wins. The Christian Science Monitor, August 18.

Obama confidante Zbigniew Brzezinski and many neoconservatives have embraced Georgia's cause. Yet some Bush I realists in the McCain camp are skeptical. The Financial Times, August 16.

Obama semi-advisor Zbigniew Brzezinski poses this question in Time: "Russia is now on watch: Will it continue to rely on coercion to achieve its imperial aims or is it willing to work within the emerging international system that values cooperation and consensus?" August 14.

The Washington Post says that John McCain has been acting too presidential when it comes to the Georgia crisis. Foreign-policy chief Randy Scheunemann and Obama advisor Susan Rice make appearances. August 15.

McCain advisor Bill Kristol says that Colin Powell, previously identified as a McCain confidante, will endorse Barack Obama and speak at the Democratic convention (Fox News). The general had the following to say about that: "I do not have time to waste on Bill Kristol's musings. I am not going to the convention. I have made this clear" (Agence France-Presse). August 13-14.

Obama and McCain continue to wage a war of words over the situation in Georgia. The GOP nominee has dispatched Senators Lindsey Graham and Joe Lieberman to Tbilisi; Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili told CNN that he was talking to McCain "several times a day." But Obama aide Susan Rice says that the Arizona senator has handled the crisis poorly and "shot from the hip." Agence France-Presse, August 13.

The New York Times has more on McCain foreign-policy chief Randy Scheunemann's lobbying history and ties to the Georgian government. August 13.

Yesterday on Hardball, Obama advisor Susan Rice said John McCain was too quick to judge on the Georgia conflict: "John McCain shot from the hip, [with a] very aggressive, very belligerent statement. . . . He may or may not have complicated the situation." The Politico, August 13.

McCain advisor Randy Scheunemann confirms that Georgian President Mikheil Saakashvili and the Arizona senator are great friends: they went jet-skiing on the Black Sea together in 2006 (CNN). The Washington Post also has a piece on the ever-present Scheunemann, who faces a stream of criticism for his lobbying ties to Tbilisi. August 13.

Virginia Governor Tim Kaine is giving a lot of credit to Barack Obama for the cease-fire between Georgia and Russia. Guess someone wants to be vice president. . . YouTube, August 12.

McCain advisor Robert Kagan adds his voice to the chorus of vitriol directed at the Kremlin: "The details of who did what to precipitate Russia's war against Georgia are not very important. Do you recall the precise details of the Sudeten Crisis that led to Nazi Germany's invasion of Czechoslovakia?" The Washington Post, August 11.

It's not just Republicans that are coming down hard on Russia in the war with Georgia: an Obama elder statesman, Zbigniew Brzezinski, says that Russian PM Vladimir Putin is "following a course that is horrifyingly similar to that taken by Stalin and Hitler in the 1930s. . . . Georgia is to an extent the Finland of today, both morally and strategically." The Guardian, August 12.

The Austin American-Statesman does a rundown of foreign-policy advisors to both campaigns. The usual suspects here: Madeleine Albright, Henry Kissinger, Obama's mini-State Department. There is this gem from McCain aide Randy Scheunemann, though: "Sen. McCain needs foreign policy advisers like Tiger Woods needs a golf coach." August 10.

Randy Returns: McCain advisor Scheunemann, who has received unwanted attention in the past for his business activities, is again under the microscope now that war has broken out between Georgia and Russia. Though he is no longer a registered lobbyist, he's a part owner of Orion Strategies, which just signed a $200,000 contract with Tbilisi in April. Obama spokesman Hari Sevugan says this is evidence of a McCain campaign "ensconced in a lobbyist culture" (Wall Street Journal). Meanwhile, McCain aide Tucker Bounds calls Democratic criticisms, from New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson, among others, "disgraceful" and "bizarrely in sync with the Kremlin" (New York Sun). August 11.

Scheunemann was quick to attack Barack Obama and the Kremlin: "[Obama's] first statement was very weak and did not distinguish between the aggressor and the victim." But Barack foreign-policy adviser Michael McFaul says it's too early to start pointing fingers at Russia: "I just don't think at that point it was useful to start assigning blame. The first thing you need to do is stop the violence." Wall Street Journal, August 11.

Another of John McCain's advisors, Bill Kristol, asks if "Russia will get away with it" today in his New York Times column. He argues that because Georgia is a democratic country, and a contributor of troops to the Iraq effort, "we owe Georgia a serious effort to defend its sovereignty." August 11.