The Buzz

The latest political headlines-

• Minnesota GOP Governor Tim Pawlenty announced this morning that he will be co-chair of John McCain's '08 exploratory committee.

• John McCain got drubbed in an Arizona 2008 straw poll. Duncan Hunter was 1st.

• Hillary Clinton, in a bid to further strengthen her foreign policy advantage, met with Pervez Musharraf in Pakistan and Karzai + US troops in Afghanistan over the weekend.

• The first shot is fired in the inevitable brawl between John Edwards and Hillary Clinton as Clinton's posse slams Edwards for his speech on weak Dems in New York (Sunday).

• Dem 2008 candidate Joe Biden plays to the black vote in SC by wading into the Confederate flag debate in that state. Biden said this at an MLK Jr. event in SC: "If I were a state legislator, I'd vote for it to move off the grounds — out of the state".

• The Donald wants Condi Rice fired: "...she goes on a plane, she gets off a plane, she waves, she goes there to meet some dictator. ... They talk, she leaves, she waves, the plane takes off. Nothing happens, it's a joke..."