Is there a git repository for Drupal releases only? Having cloned drupal from the git repository using 

git clone --branch 7.x http://git.drupal.org/project/drupal.git


I noticed that I'm actually running 7.9-dev when what I want to be running is the most recent stable. Is there a git repository or branch that I can pull from to run the most recent stable release? I've seen references to git.drupal.org/project-stable/drupal.git around the net, but that doesn't seem to be a valid repository anymore.
Drupal releases are marked with a corresponding "tag" within the repository. When you clone a git repository, you get all the tags and branches along with it. Running the following command from within the repository will checkout the version 7.8 tag:

git checkout 7.8


To list the available tags, type git tag. To list all available branches, type git branch -a.