The World is Talking. Global Politics

Sen. Barack Obama and former President Bill Clinton had their much-anticipated telelphone conversation today.

According to a statement: “Senator Obama had a terrific conversation with President Clinton and is
honored to have his support in this campaign.  He has always believed
that Bill Clinton is one of this nation’s great leaders and most
brilliant minds, and looks forward to seeing him on the campaign trail
and receiving his counsel in the months to come,”

A new Rasmussen Reports survey in Georgia finds Sen. John McCain well ahead of Sen. Barack Obama, 53% to 43%.

The only real surprise is that Libertarian candidate Bob Barr gets only 1% of the vote in his home state, suggesting he’s not likely to be much of a factor.

Political Insider: What John Kerry taught John McCain about presidential politics. Plus, a postscript on how he might have messed it up.

Four Fingers and a Thumb 2.0 speaks out against political tyranny and the passivity that allows it to continue. “A dictator in the world,” she says, “is like the abusive father in the community that no-one wants to report.”

According to Politico, Mitt Romney “is at the top of the vice-presidential prospect list for Sen. John McCain. But lack of personal chemistry could derail the pick.”

McCain sources say that “they believe Romney could raise $50 million in 60 days. One close Romney adviser said it could even be $60 million.”

“Campaign insiders say McCain plans to name his running mate very shortly after Sen. Barack Obama does, as part of what one campaign planner called a ‘bounce-mitigation strategy.’”

Political Insider: The long, slow death of the Democratic Leadership Council.

“They’ve got me muzzled… Now don’t you print that… I really don’t like to be interviewed.”

– Roberta McCain, mother of Sen. John McCain, in a brief interview with the Los Angeles Times.

George Packer: “With the general election four months away, Obama’s rhetoric on the topic [of Iraq] now seems outdated and out of touch, and the nominee-apparent may have a political problem concerning the very issue that did so much to bring him this far. He doubtless realizes that his original plan, if implemented now, could revive the badly wounded Al Qaeda in Iraq, reënergize the Sunni insurgency, embolden Moqtada al-Sadr to recoup his militia’s recent losses to the Iraqi Army, and return the central government to a state of collapse.”

As a result, Marc Ambinder says Sen. John McCain will press Obama on Iraq all week.

Said one McCain adviser: “He is in a bad place. Caught between his
promise to his base and the reality on the ground. Immediate withdrawal
isn’t a good place to be.”

Bermuda blogger Vexed Bermoothes comments on the government's announcement that it will now release tourism statistics quarterly, instead of monthly. In his view, it's a situation “ripe for abuse.”

Masnoorwak urges Malaysia opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim to stop hiding in the Turkish Embassy and answer the charge that he was involved in a sodomy case.