New York City Mayor Michael Bloomberg is receiving foreign policy briefings (Huffington Post) from former UN Ambassador Nancy Soderberg, fueling speculation that he may be preparing to run for the Republican nomination.

Bernadette Chirac, wife of former French President Jacques Chirac, announced her support (Reuters) for Sen. Hillary Clinton’s candidacy yesterday.

Sen. Barack Obama (D-IL) criticized President Bush’s policy toward Pakistan. “By giving President Musharraf a blank check, President Bush is alienating the very people in Pakistan who are most likely to share our values, and undercutting his own support for democracy abroad,” Obama said Wednesday.

Republican candidate Mitt Romney defended the troop surge in Iraq Wednesday and criticized Obama’s anti-war stance, saying Iraq would have “safe havens for al Qaeda” (DesMoines Register) if the Illinois Democrat was president.