Europe Goes Ga-Ga Over Hillary-Barack

The race between Sens. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama is weighing down the diplomatic pouches Washington ambassadors are sending home. Top Embassy Row diplomats tell us that the regular stuff of trade deals, treaties, and military talk is playing second fiddle to the fascination in Europe's capitals with the first-ever presidential primary race between a woman and an African-American. One top diplo tells us he can't deliver enough news to his bosses. "It's getting to the point that it's difficult to talk to them on the phone," says the diplomat. "They want forecasts and predictions," he says. "It's what they mostly want to talk about."

By Paul Bedard