The World is Talking. Global Politics

I’ll have more to say about McClellan’s book, or, rather what he’s saying about his book, when I return home (although…

Rep. James Clyburn (D-SC), the majority
whip and third-highest ranking Democrat in the U.S. House of
Representatives, will announce his endorsement for president “at 11
a.m. Tuesday, when the last two primaries in Montana and South Dakota
are under way,” according to the Stamford Advocate.

However, Clyburn noted that he already voted in South Carolina’s primary, adding, “I’m not undecided, just unpledged.”

NBC News notes that Sen. Hillary Clinton’s campaign is taking travel arrangements for members of the traveling press corps past June 3, the date of the last primaries.

When asked if this was a sign the campaign would continue, a spokesman said, “Sign up and see.”

Matt Cooper, who was “somewhat infamously” involved in the C.I.A. leak case, writes about his dealings with White House press secretary Scott McClellan and the reactions to his new book, What Happened.

“In a way, both McClellan and his critics are right. Certainly
everything McClellan says about the rush to war and the incompetence of
the administration has held up over time. He now finds himself with the
nearly three quarters of Americans who disapprove of the president’s
job performance. But the Bushies do have a point when they note that
McClellan did not raise these objections while he was in the White
House. There is something unsettling when a George Stephanopoulos or
Scott McClellan rides a presidential candidate and then a White House
to fame, and then dumps a critical memoir out there.”

A new EPIC-MRA poll in Michigan shows Sen. John McCain leading Sen. Barack Obama, 44% to 40%, in a general election match up.

But the most interesting finding is that when you add running mates — Obama/Clinton vs. McCain/Romney — the Democratic ticket wins 51% to 44%. Considering Romney claims roots to Michigan, it would seem to seriously undermine his case to be McCain’s candidate for vice president.

The survey’s margin of error is +/- 4%.

First Read notes that coverage of Scott McClellan’s White House memoir, What Happened, continues to dominate the news and “the White House has done nothing to try to push this story out of the
headlines.”

“McClellan will appear on Olbermann tonight, as well as on Meet
the Press on Sunday. This is turning into a five-day news story –
minimum. And that’s not just unhelpful to Bush as he attempts to repair
his image even a little, but also to John McCain, who doesn’t need
White House Bush drama eating into his coverage. Also, nevermind how
McClellan has stepped on Clinton’s final attempt to bring attention to
the Florida-Michigan process.”

In an interview on the Today Show, McClellan indicated it was his use as a “pawn” in the Valerie Plame case that caused him to become disillusioned with the White House.

Poblano updates his rankings of pollsters. The most interesting finding is that two of the top three firms — SurveyUSA and Rasmussen — use automated polls which are typically shunned by the national media.

Media mogul Rupert Murdoch “predicted a
Democratic landslide in the U.S. presidential election against a gloomy
economic backdrop over the next 18 months,” according to Reuters.

Said Murdoch: “You have got the Obama phenomenon. You have got, undoubtedly, a
recession… The average American is really getting hurt financially
and that all bodes well for him… You have probably the making of a complete phenomenon in this country.”

Meanwhile, Politico quotes Murdoch on McCain, saying he “has been in Congress a long time, and you have to make a lot of
compromises. So what’s he really stand for?… I think he has a lot of
problems.”

“Fall campaigns for President require massive organizations,” Time magazine observes. “What’s
more, McCain is likely to face the biggest, baddest team on the block.
Barack Obama has been running the equivalent of a national campaign for
almost six months now. He spends more than twice as much every 30 days
as McCain has been able to raise in the same period. Obama has a
campaign staff that numbers about 700 and already blankets most of the
swing states. His organization ticks like a clock, has had an
unwavering message and has kept a firmly fixed inner circle.”

“McCain, meanwhile, is still formulating his general-election pitch and struggling to build his core team. He is also trying, for the second time in as many years, to create a campaign that can win on a big scale.”

In a discussion with reporters on a plane to Chicago, Sen. Barack Obama said he would be the Democratic Party presidential nominee on Tuesday and that the general election would finally begin.

Said Obama: “After Tuesday we will. I think Saturday will be important, put the
Michigan, Florida issue behind us. We’ve got three contests in
succession. And at that point, all the information will be in. There
will be no more questions answered. I suspect that you know whatever
remaining superdelegates will make their decisions pretty quickly after
that.”

Meanwhile, the San Francisco Chronicle reports House Speaker Nancy Pelosi “says
she will step in if necessary to make sure the presidential nomination
fight between Hillary Rodham Clinton and Barack Obama does not reach
the Democratic National Convention.”