The World is Talking. Global Politics

Sen. Barack Obama “is riding high as the March 4 primaries approach,” according to a new Pew Research survey. “Obama has moved out to a broad-based advantage over Hillary Clinton in the national Democratic primary contest and holds a 50% to 43% lead over John McCain in a general election matchup.”

Among Democrats, Obama now leads Clinton, 49% to 40%.

Key finding: “Clinton’s support levels have slipped across the board among Democrats. Clinton leads Obama only among white women voters, those ages 65 and older, and voters with household incomes of less than $30,000 a year.”

Harold Ickes talks to the New York Observer and makes sure everyone knows Mark Penn is to blame for any failures of Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign. He even noted that Penn prefers to be called “chief strategist” instead of “pollster.”

Said Ickes: “Mark Penn has run this campaign. Besides Hillary Clinton, he is the single most responsible person for this campaign… It’s pretty plain for anyone to see that he has shaped the strategy of the campaign. He has called the shots. Mark Penn has dominated the message in this campaign. Dominated it.”

On MSNBC, Bob Shrum piles on as well.

A new InsiderAdvantage poll in Texas shows Sen. Hillary Clinton edging Sen. Barack Obama, 47% to 43% with 10% undecided.

The margin of error is 4 points, making the race a statistical dead heat.

Here’s a special offer I negotiated exclusively for Political Wire readers:

Subscribe to Campaigns & Elections’ Politics magazine for just $35 for the year. This is the lowest price available anywhere; the normal price is $49. Subscribers also get access to exclusive content on the magazine’s web site.

It’s a great magazine, so take advantage of this limited time offer now!

Cameroon was besieged this week by the worst violence in fifteen years, as a transportation strike formally ended by unions on Wednesday expanded into a more general protest against rising food and oil prices and President Biya’s attempts to alter the constitution and extend his 25-year rule. Bloggers and netizens describe the situation on the ground and what it means for Cameroon’s future.

Red State son Dennis Osama Hussein Scaramouche Sid Vicious Perrin dissents from the hankie-waving flurry of lacy adieus to the wisdom and mirth of William F. Buckley Jr. As an audiovisual supplement, Perrin incorporates two extended clips from the old…

A new Mason-Dixon poll shows Sen. John McCain leading both Sens. Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton in potential general-election match ups in the all-important swing state of Florida.

McCain leads Obama, 47% to 37%, and tops Clinton, 49% to 40%.

Belo Texas Tracking Poll: “Six days out from the Texas Democratic presidential primary the race remains a statistical dead heat with Hillary Clinton leading Barack Obama by a slim 46% to 45% margin, narrowing slightly from 46% to 43% since yesterday. The race continues to trend toward Barack Obama, though these changes are slight and within the margin of error.”

A new People Calling People survey in Texas shows Sen. Barack Obama with a 7-point lead over Sen. Hillary Clinton, 40% to 33%. The survey’s margin of error is 2.42%.

However, in a poll of voters who said they had already cast ballots in early voting for the Democratic primary, Clinton led Obama, 41% to 38%, within the subset survey’s margin of error.

Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign “is set to announce later today that she’s raised $35 million in the month of February, a huge month by any standard measure of political fundraising and her best of the campaign,” according to Ben Smith.

“A Clinton advisor confirmed the figure, which is enough to suggest that money won’t be an obstacle to Clinton’s campaign going forward — though Clinton is still being heavily outspent by Barack Obama and his labor allies in Texas and Ohio.”

Update: Sen. Barack Obama’s campaign says it raised “considerably more” than $35 million.

Update II: Marc Ambinder: “But though Barack Obama’s campaign is keeping mum, you can bet that somewhere in Chicago, David Plouffe is cracking a smile. That’s because the campaign is expected to announce having raised
more than $50M this month, breaking all records and all expectations.”