The World is Talking. Global Politics

Blogger Gopalan Nair dares Singapore leader Lee Kuan Yew to sue him. IZ Reloaded thinks it could be “the most daring or foolish act ever in the history of the blogosphere.”

“There are miserable creatures like you in every administration who don’t have the guts to speak up or quit if there are disagreements with the boss or colleagues. No, your type soaks up the benefits of power, revels in the limelight for years, then quits, and spurred on by greed, cashes in with a scathing critique… You’re a hot ticket now but don’t you, deep down, feel like a total ingrate?”

– Former Sen. Bob Dole (R-KS), in an email obtained by Politico to former White House press secretary Scott McClellan.

“I think I can forgive you now.”

– Former White House terrorism czar Richard Clarke, quoted by ABC News, after receiving an apology from former White House press secretary Scott McClellan for bashing his 2004 book, Against All Enemies.

Even though Sen. Barack Obama lost the California primary to Sen. Hillary Clinton by 18
percentage points, he is now favored among Democratic voters, 51% to 38%, according to the latest Field Poll.

In a general election match up, Obama beats Sen. John McCain, 52% to 35%.

Key finding: “A majority of Democratic voters said they would be more likely to
support the Democratic ticket if it included both Obama and Clinton.
However, Clinton supporters were more enthusiastic about an
Obama-Clinton ticket than Obama backers were about the reverse lineup.”

Harold Ickes, Sen. Hillary Clinton’s “chief delegate hunter,” told the Huffington Post “that there may be
some defections” among the 13 DNC rules and bylaws committee members who have endorsed Clinton. “If
Ickes and his allies cannot hold all their troops in line, a motion
before the RBC to seat all 210 Florida and 156 Michigan delegates with
a full vote each would face certain defeat.”

Political Insider: Previewing Saturday’s DNC rules committee meeting.

Sen. Joseph Biden (D-DE) told the Washington Times that his one-time presidential rival Sen. Barack Obama has asked him to “play a more prominent” and “deeply involved” role in his campaign, “a signal the likely Democratic nominee is looking to burnish his foreign-policy credentials that Republicans are attacking.”

Said Biden: “He has asked me to play a more prominent role - not in an administration, in the campaign - meaning would I be more available, would I travel with him occasionally, and I said once he gets the nomination, if he gets the nomination, then I’ll do whatever he wants. I’ll do whatever he asks me to do.”

“By this time next week, it will all be over give or take a day.”

– Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid, quoted by the AP, on plans by party leaders to end the Democratic nomination race after the last primaries on June 3.

Edgar Ruiz Díaz of Las Preguntas de Venerando [es] writes about the change in power in Paraguay, and how many public workers will now try to convince the new administration that they belong. He also suggests the creation of a “People's Union,” which will help control the public administration.

Sen. Roger Wicker (R-MS), appointed to fill the seat of retired Sen. Trent Lott (R-MS), “finds himself in a very tight
election battle” with former Mississippi Gov. Ronnie Musgrove (D) “to win the job on his own,” according to a new Rasmussen Reports survey.

Musgrove (D) edges Wicker, 47% to 46%.

A new Pew Research survey shows Sen. Barack Obama edging Sen. John McCain, 47% to 44%, in a general election match up.

“The tightening general election matchup between Obama and McCain shows
some sullying of Obama’s personal image over the past three months,
despite his primary victories. Over this period, unfavorable views of
McCain have risen as well.”

Key finding: “Obama’s slipping image is in some measure a negative reaction from
frustrated Clinton supporters. Currently, just 46% of those who support
Clinton for the nomination say the party will unite behind Obama if he
is the nominee.”

A new Democracy Corps survey shows Obama leading McCain, 47% to 45%.

“This is a real race. Obama’s vote has not risen above 48% and
the intensity of support and opposition for each candidate is very
similar.”