Around the globe, Mr. Obama inspires more confidence - by a wide margin - than any other national leader, according to a recent 20-country poll by WorldPublicOpinion.org.

An average of 61 percent of respondents expressed a lot or some belief that the US chief executive would “do the right thing regarding world affairs,” in the survey’s phrase. (This figure excludes US voters, for whom the comparable figure was 70 percent.)

Second place in this “Earth’s Got Talent” was a tie between German Chancellor Angela Merkel and UN Secretary General Ban Ki Moon. Their confidence rating was 40 percent.

Iranian President Mahmoud Ahmadinejad? Not through to the final round! Only 28 percent of respondents around the world had any confidence in his abilities. He was last among major leaders rated by voters from around the world.

The WorldPublicOpinion poll surveyed about 20,000 people in countries that make up 62 percent of the world’s population. Most of the biggest nations were included, among them China, India, Russia, the US, and Indonesia.

Obama did not do well everywhere. Only 23 percent of Russians had any confidence he would do the right thing. (By contrast, Russians gave an 82 percent thumbs-up to their own Prime Minister Valdimir Putin.)

In Pakistan, Obama won only 30 percent approval. In Egypt, the figure was 39 percent, despite the US president’s attempts to reach out to the Muslim world.

By contrast, there are nations where Obama is far more popular than he is at home. In Great Britain, 92 percent of respondents said they had confidence in his actions. In Kenya, it was 95 percent.

While Obama hit the 55 percent mark in China, he was out-polled there by Prime Minister Putin, whose confidence rating among Chinese was 64 percent.

Senior members of Senator John McCain’s campaign team talked extensively with Purdum for the article.

“Most made it clear that they suffer a kind of survivor’s guilt: They can’t quite believe that for two frantic months last fall, caught in a Bermuda Triangle of a campaign, they worked their tails off to try to elect as vice-president of the United States someone who, by mid-October, they believed for certain was nowhere near ready for the job and might never be,” Purdum writes.

Obama: not enough time for Palin to prepare

Candidate Barack Obama told aides he did not think Palin would have time after she was selected as McCain’s running mate to get up to speed as a national candidate. “I don’t care how talented she is, this is really a leap,” Vanity Fair quotes Obama as saying.

After spending time reporting in Alaska, Purdum writes that “the brutal reality is that many people who have worked closely with Palin have found themselves disillusioned.” Former Governor Walter Hickel, who was co-chair of her 2006 gubernatorial campaign, said “I helped her out, she got elected… She never called me once in her life after that.”

Can’t count her out

The lengthy report on Governor Palin offers a heavy dose of criticism for alleged political missteps from a variety of sources. But Purdum does not count Palin out of the political game, regardless of whether she runs for re-election.

“Palin has shown herself to have remarkable gut instincts about raw politics, and she has seen openings where others did not,” Purdum writes. “And she has the good fortune to have traction within a political party that is bereft of strong leadership, and whose rank and file often demands qualities other than knowledge, experience, and an understanding that facts are, as John Adams said, stubborn things…. She may decide that she does not need office in order to have great influence—any more than Rush Limbaugh does.”

Known as much for his loner habits as his mile-wide independent streak, Governor Sanford has insisted on driving his own car, often leaving behind his security detail to jog across the muggy capital or head for a private retreat.

South Carolina does not have an official state protocol for protecting the governor, but there’s an unspoken code that governors work with security personnel – a code Sanford has become adept at cracking, time and again.

Now, a week after the media first became aware of Sanford’s absence, it is becoming clear that Sanford’s rendezvous with his Argentine lover was a gubernatorial escape of unusual daring – even by his Houdini standards.

The disappearance: June 18-22

The first sign that the governor was again attempting a disappearing act came on June 18, when he – or someone – disabled the tracking device on the black state-owned SUV he was taking in the direction of the airport.

As far as his staff, security detail, and family apparently knew, he was off for a weekend of solitude on the Appalachian Trail. In truth, Sanford was crying in Argentina, anguished over his feelings for Maria Belen Chapur, an Argentine TV anchor whom he had met eight years earlier.

He had come to visit her over the Father’s Day weekend – against his wife’s explicit wishes – and spent much of the time contemplating the future of his family, he told the press last week.

But for state Sen. Jake Knotts, a fellow Republican who was worried about the governor’s safety, Sanford might have kept the trip – and the affair – quiet.

The search: June 22-24

Senator Knotts alerted the media of the governor’s absence Monday, four days after he disappeared.

It wasn’t until the next day that Sanford’s staff finally reached the governor. He said he was taken aback by the furor over his absence. But confusion had been mounting. According to a cellphone ping, the governor’s last known whereabouts had been Atlanta – at least 80 miles from Springer Mountain, the head of the Appalachian Trail in Georgia.

On Wednesday, a reporter from the main South Carolina newspaper, The State, located Sanford at Atlanta’s Hartfield-Jackson Airport. The governor’s obvious obfuscations turned the tale of a wandering Southern governor into a national mystery.

The confession: June 24

That afternoon, after quoting Scripture and talking about his love of the outdoors, the governor broke the shocking news: He had been having an affair. It had lasted at least 12 months. His wife had known for five of them.

The dates he gave coincided with a taxpayer-funded business trip to Argentina in June 2008. The itinerary left ample personal time. He has since promised to pay the state $8,000 for trips that included visits to his paramour.

Sanford’s wife, Jenny, was stunned that her husband broke his promise not to go to Argentina. “He was told in no uncertain terms not to see her,” she told the Associated Press.

Jenny’s statements put new emphasis on a batch of e-mails The State had received on Dec. 30 and purportedly had been written by Sanford. The rambling, personal, romantic, and often angst-ridden e-mails, previously unsubstantiated, now explained the inner turmoil of one of the GOP’s rising stars.

In private, he was writing love letters to a faraway mistress. In public, he was fighting his own party over the state budget and the White House over its stimulus package, which he did not want to take, saying it had too many strings attached. Eventually, the state Supreme Court forced him to take the money.

The fallout: June 24-29

Sanford’s apparently heartfelt apologies during the past week have brought him some sympathy. Many state leaders and even critics have come out in support of the governor, saying personal missteps have little to do with his ability to run the state.

At the same time, he is facing a backlash within his own party. Some Republican county chairs – the core of much of Sanford’s political power – are planning a rally for later this week to demand his resignation. Ironically, Knotts, the senator who had acted out of concern for his governor’s well-being, is now asking for Sanford to step down, too.

But some county GOP chairs have declined to attend the rally, saying the story is a classic case of the biblical precept: Let he who is without sin first cast a stone.

The rift has given Democrats hope that they could make a serious run for the governorship of this deeply conservative state in 18 months’ time. According to one poll by InsiderAdvantage, 50 percent of South Carolinians want him to resign.

On Monday, President Obama himself stepped out of the Oval Office to announce new lighting standards he said could save US consumers as much as $4 billion a year. This followed his weekly video address, released Saturday, in which he hailed the House’s recent passage of climate-change legislation.

The White House surely wants to keep pressure on the Senate so that the chamber will move forward with its own version of the climate bill after its vacation ends.

“I am confident that they, too, will choose to move this country forward,” Mr. Obama said Monday of senators.

The energy-economy link

But Obama also seldom misses an opportunity to promote a sort of unified theory of his domestic policies, with everything tied into an attempt to revive US economic growth.

The climate-change bill, federal programs to help automakers develop green technologies, and stimulus bill funds to weatherize homes – all are of a piece, in this view.

“We’ve gotten a lot done on the energy front in the last six months,” said Obama.

Hey, what about boosting supply?

Republicans, reacting on Monday, said the administration’s energy plans do not really add up. The US also needs to focus on supply, through such measures as increased oil exploration, they said.

“Conservation is only half the equation. Even as we use less energy, we need to produce more of our own,” said Senate Republican leader Mitch McConnell of Kentucky. “We have to admit there’s a gap between the clean, renewable fuel we want and the reliable energy we need.”

The new efficiency standards announced by the White House apply to fluorescent and incandescent lighting. Seven percent of all the energy used in the US goes to lighting homes and businesses, noted Obama.

“I know light bulbs may not seem sexy, but this simple action holds enormous promise,” said Obama.

That was President Obama’s implication, in any case, as he announced new federal lamp and lighting standards on Monday.

New federal efficiency standards for fluorescent and incandescent lighting could save US consumers up to $4 billion a year, said Mr. Obama, and eliminate the need for as many as 14 new coal-fired power plants.

Then the nation’s chief executive nodded toward Energy Secretary Steven Chu, who was standing next to him behind the podium.

“And by the way, we’re going to start here at the White House,” said Obama. “Secretary Chu’s already started to take a look at our light bulbs, and we’re going to see what we need to replace them with energy-efficient light bulbs.”

This remark appeared to be slightly jocular. Secretary Chu is a prominent physicist whose awards include a Nobel Prize. That makes him overqualified, in terms of deciding whether a particular East Room lamp needs the equivalent of 60 or 40 watts.

“The President and First Family continue to look for a church home. They have enjoyed worshipping at Camp David and several other congregations over the months, and will choose a church at the time that is best for their family,” Deputy White House Press Secretary Jennifer Psaki said in a statement.

Time.com had posted a lengthy story saying that, in an unexpected move, President Obama had told aides he had decided to make the non-denominational chapel at Camp David the family’s primary church home. Evergreen Chapel was dedicated during the presidency of George H.W. Bush and serves the military personnel and staff stationed at the highly secure Camp David.

Little Sunday morning privacy

In addition to services at Camp David, the President and Mrs. Obama have attended a local Baptist church and celebrated Easter at St. John’s Episcopal Church across the street from the White House. Word that the Obamas would attend the Baptist church became public, drawing a large crowd and making it difficult for regular church attendees to find seats. And tourists inside the church reportedly snapped pictures of the President while he attended St. John’s.

Presidents at least since McKinley have found it difficult to worship without being stared at or photographed. Since September 11, 2001, heightened security has made church-going even more difficult for the First Family.

The complex two block trip to church

This reporter has not accompanied Mr. Obama to church. But I did attend services with President Bush as part of a White House press pool that accompanied the chief executive when he left the executive mansion and traveled to St John’s Episcopal, just across Lafayette Park from the White House.

Early Sunday morning we got into a 14-vehicle motorcade – complete with duplicate armored SUVs, an ambulance, and a counter-assault SWAT unit dressed in black and armed with high powered rifles — for the two block ride to church. Parents placed their children in pews near to Mr. Bush to snag a presidential handshake during the “greet your fellow worshiper” portion of the Episcopal service.

For the Obama family, security and privacy are not the only concerns in finding a new church home. The issue is especially sensitive for Mr. Obama since he resigned from Trinity United Church of Christ in Chicago in the wake of intemperate comments made by his former pastor, Jeremiah Wright.

Senator Graham is the godfather of Governor Sanford’s fourth and youngest son, and he fielded questions about Sanford’s admitted infidelity with difficulty on NBC’s “Meet the Press.” In a contrite moment, he called the GOP “a party of sinners” – apparently referring to his own religious convictions, because he added that the same was true of “every other group in America.”

Along with Sen. Jon Ensign (R) of Nevada, Sanford was the second major Republican politician to admit in affair in two weeks. Sanford was considered an up-and-comer with national aspirations before this week.

Asked if Sanford should now step down as governor, Graham said Sanford should be given the chance to set things right, so long as he can reconcile with his wife, Jenny.

In a curious example, Graham noted that former president Clinton was discovered to have had an affair while in office, yet his approval rating remained high among Americans because of his job performance, Graham noted.

“Bill Clinton had his problems. People looked at his job performance, they looked at his personal failings and they said, ‘You know what, we’re going to put one over here and the other over there,’ ” Graham said. “That’s no justification for what Mark did, but I think the people of South Carolina appreciate what Mark tried to do as governor to change their state.”

Graham voted to impeach Clinton, though he said Sunday that vote was based on his perceptions that Clinton had obstructed justice – not because he had had an affair.

Graham also mentioned a surprising antidote to the current spate of politicians behaving badly: President Obama. Going so far as to call him a role model as a good parent, Graham added: “Obama has done a lot of good in the area of family.”

Good role models are exactly what politics needs, said former GOP presidential candidate Mitt Romney, also appearing on “Meet the Press.” Though he said he was not commenting specifically on the Sanford situation, he said: “You have to recognize that people that are in public life ought to be held to a higher standard,” he said. “We expect [these] people to live by a higher standard, because what they do is going to be magnified.”

Speaking on CNN’s “State of the Union” Sunday, Gov. Tim Pawlenty (R) of Minnesota said Sanford was guilty of serious political mistakes. He “should not have left the state and not allowed people to know how to contact him in case something happened,” said Governor Pawlenty. “Your staff has to be able to reach you and reach you quickly for all the obvious reasons – natural disaster, terrorism, or other events.”

Pagano likes guns. He likes guns so much that he asked his parishioners to come to church this evening armed like Sylvester Stallone in Rambo (.50 caliber machine gun optional).

In all seriousness, Pagano did hold an “open carry celebration” tonight at his church. That meant if you owned a gun you could bring it to the service (provided it was unloaded) as part of an effort, he says, to promote responsible gun ownership and firearms safety.

About 200 people took him up on the invitation. It wasn’t mandatory to have a gun to get in. In fact, according to the church website, you didn’t even have to believe in God. The only requirement was to be a supporter of the First and Second Amendments.

“We are wanting to send a message that there are legal, civil, intelligent and law-abiding citizens who also own guns,” Pagano said in welcoming the attendees.

“If it were not for a deep-seated belief in the right to bear arms, this country would not be here today,” he said.

This was an oft-repeated message for Pagano. He’s been fielding media requests from all over the world since word of the service became widespread earlier this month. All appearing to have the same question: What are you doing?

“As a Christian, I believe, and as an American this country was founded on the deep-seated belief in God and firearms — without which we wouldn’t be here today,” Pagano told FOX News earlier this week. “There is nothing illogical nor immoral about being a God-fearer and a decent community-minded individual who believes in rights to bear arms and use firearms for self-defense if necessary or just for sporting purposes.”

OK. But why hold the event at a church?

“This event is not taking place on the Lord’s Day,” Pagano explained on his website. “This is not a Church worship service, where the focus is on Jesus and our responsibility to Him. Rather, this is merely a Church hosted event, similar to any other event that any other Church may do to celebrate their heritage. It would be our hope to see this event become a nationally celebrated, annual occurrence on the last weekend of June.”

Pagano said he got the idea after some members at his Pentecostal church expressed concern about the Obama administration’s views on gun control.

It’s not the first time Pagano has discussed firearms at his church. According to the Kentucky Equality Federation, his sermon two weeks ago was titled, “God, Guns, Gospel and Geometry.”

Whatever the outcome, Pagano’s become a media sensation. The New York Times has been live-blogging the event. Yesterday, after seeing a sign on the front door of the library which said, “No concealed deadly weapons,” a reporter wrote, “It was kind of startling for someone who lives in New York City, where the guns laws are much more restrictive and there is no need (or less of a perceived need) for such signs.”

“But here in Kentucky, the gun laws are among the least restrictive in the country, which makes possible an event like the one tomorrow night at the New Bethel Church, where people will be wearing and carrying their firearms into the sanctuary for a celebration,” the reporter wrote.

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Sarah Palin fights back. Two weeks ago, she successfully got David Letterman to back down and issue an apology. And now she’s going toe to toe with Massachusetts Senator John Kerry.

Speaking to Alaska National Guard troops in Kosovo yesterday, the Alaskan governor responded to Kerry’s non-creative joke with her own non-creative joke. Dumb? The jokes are. But the exchange is still funny.

Palin was setting the stage for her comic gold extravaganza by recalling Kerry’s jab. “So the governor of South Carolina disappears for a week,” Palin said imitating Kerry. “Well, shoot, of all the governors in the nation to disappear — too bad it couldn’t have been that governor from Alaska.”

That got a few chuckles from the audience before she transitioned from Kerry back to herself.

“He looked so frustrated and looked so sad,” she said. “I just wanted to reach out to the TV and say, ‘John Kerry, why the long face?’”

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In other news, a ham sandwich walks into a bar and orders a drink. “Sorry.” says the bartender. “We don’t serve food here.”

Hat-tip: Our favorite blogger (except us), Andrew Malcolm at the LA Times.

Whether you were a fan of the “King of Pop” or not, his passing is big, big news. Look at the news networks today. Aside from the occasional update on the Mark Sanford train wreck, it’s been nearly non-stop coverage of Jackson’s death.

And for those who pay attention to presidential politics, you’d know that issuing official statements when a high profile individual passes on is commonplace (although the Obama White House has only issued four thus far). And despite Jackson’s seclusion from the public over the past many years, his star power is/was unmatched.

So why no statement from President Obama?

From the podium

Well if you listen to White House Press Secretary Robert Gibbs, you get a non-answer. When asked why, he flatly replied, “Because I just said it.”

Moments before he had just delivered a rather blase’ accounting of a conversation he had with the president on the issue.

“I talked to him about it this morning,” Gibbs said. “He said to me that obviously Michael Jackson was a spectacular performer and a music icon and I think everybody remembers hearing his songs and watching him moonwalk on television during Motown’s 25th anniversary.”

“But the president also said aspects of his life were sad and tragic,” Gibbs continued. “His condolences went out to the Jackson family and to fans that mourned his loss.”

All planned

Despite his lukewarm approach, the decision to handle it this way was discussed. It was planned. Rarely does something just happen at the White House.

This is not to say White House aides were up all night hotly debating the issue and agonizing over making the decision. That surely didn’t happen. Regardless, the decision not to issue a piece of paper (electronic or not) that said “Statement by the President” was deliberate.

What was the thinking behind it? Hard to say exactly. But appropriateness plays a big role as does perception.

By putting out an official White House statement on a celebrity, what message does it send? This celebrity had unmatched star power. His impact on society is/was immeasurable. His contributions to music, culture, and entertainment could be unsurpassed.

But then there’s the dark side. And that dark side is loud. And unforgettable. As longtime CBS White House correspondent Mark Knoller blogged today, “He was a world-renowned superstar, but there are parts of his life that hardly merit words of tribute from an American President.”

These are the two competing values that the White House communications office had to balance in making the decision.

It’s not as though President Obama wouldn’t talk about Jackson. The press had their chance this morning to ask him about it at his press conference with German Chancellor Angela Merkel. They didn’t ask. So they asked Gibbs.

Surprised

Having worked in politics for most of my professional life (including in George W. Bush’s White House), I was surprised with the decision. Not that I think it was necessarily wrong, but to me Jackson just seemed too big not to.

So I asked a former colleague, Mark Pfeifle, what he thought. Pfeifle was the communications director for the National Security Council in the White House from 2007 - 2009.

“Jackson’s passing is a national moment — an odd one, but I would have advised releasing a statement that praised his contributions to the music and pop culture world, but carefully balanced his very unusual and controversial life. In some ways his life was like watching a car wreck in slow motion,” he said.

What’s the downside to issuing a formal statement?

“Releasing downside is alleged victims could come out against the release or people could claim that the President is not focused on the economy — kind of like the big luau in the Rose Garden yesterday (small chance on both),” Pfeifle added.

Schwarzenegger

Is it different in California? After all, Governor Schwarzenegger (who I also worked for), issued a statement immediately. My former colleague and current press secretary to Schwarzenegger, Aaron McLear, said there was little discussion.

“No drama–Governor wanted to issue a statement so he did,” McLear said.

And Schwarzenegger threaded the needle noting Jackson’s pluses and minuses.

“Today, the world has lost one of the most influential and iconic figures in the music industry. From his performances with the Jackson 5, to the premiere of the ‘moonwalk’ and ‘Thriller,’ Michael was a pop phenomenon who never stopped pushing the envelope of creativity,” Schwarzenegger said.

“Though there were serious questions about his personal life, Michael was undoubtedly a great entertainer and his popularity spanned generations and the globe. Maria and I join all Californians in expressing our shock and sadness over his death and our hearts go out to the Jackson family, Michael’s children and to his fans worldwide.”

All in all, does it matter much? Not really. Despite the venom displayed by some with strong feelings on both sides — evidenced here — this part of the story is over.

The legacy of Michael Jackson, on the other hand, will keep going.

By the way, do you know the story of why Jackson started wearing one white glove? Click here to read about it.

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