THE CANDIDATES:

John McCain... today's headlines with excerpts

McCain admits error on King holiday 

John McCain honored the sacrifice and legacy of Martin Luther King Jr. and said today that he was wrong to oppose a federal holiday for King.

"I was wrong. I was wrong," he said in front of the Lorraine Motel after an impromptu tour of where King was assassinated 40 years ago. "We can all be a little late sometimes in doing the right thing, and Dr. King understood this about his fellow Americans."

Some in the crowd heckled him, but others shouted, "We forgive you. We forgive you."

see also: McCain apologizes for opposing MLK holiday

McCain to take Secret Service protection

Sen. John McCain has decided to request Secret Service protection and will meet with officials from the agency in the next several days, a senior aide said today.

The move came after the head of the Secret Service openly discussed McCain's lack of protection at a congressional hearing on Thursday.

"Statutorily, he is not required to take protection," The Washington Post reported Sullivan saying when asked about McCain's security during a hearing on the agency's budget. "As far as an actual request, we have not gotten one. We have no involvement at this point."

McCain warned against naming Romney

More than 20 social-conservative leaders purchased a full-page ad in an Arizona paper warning Sen. John McCain against picking Mitt Romney as his running mate, calling the former Massachusetts governor a "deal breaker" and an "utterly unacceptable" choice for social conservatives.

The open letter to Mr. McCain, which focuses on Mr. Romney's record on abortion and gay marriage and calls him "unfit to be a 'heartbeat away' " from the presidency, runs in tomorrow's editions of the Prescott Daily Courier. It's dominated by block type words "No Mitt."

McCain among richest senators

As heiress to her father's stake in Hensley & Co. of Phoenix, Cindy McCain is an executive whose worth may exceed $100 million. Her beer earnings have afforded the GOP presidential nominee a wealthy lifestyle with a private jet and vacation homes at his disposal, and her connections helped him launch his political career _ even if the millions remain in her name alone. Yet the arm's-length distance between McCain and his wife's assets also has helped shield him from conflict-of-interest problems.

Hillary Clinton... today's headlines with excerpts

Clintons: $109 million in 7 years

Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton and former President Clinton report nearly $109.2 million in income for seven years in newly released tax data.

The Democratic presidential candidate and her husband paid $33.8 million in taxes from 2000 through 2007. They listed $10.25 million in charitable contributions during that period.

Her Senate Salary: $1,051,606
His Presidential Pension: $1,217,250
Her Book Income: $10,457,083
His Book Income: $29,580,525
His Speech Income: $51,855,599

Hillary's superdelegate lead shrinks from 87 to 30

Hillary Clinton’s superdelegate lead over Democratic presidential rival Barack Obama has plunged in recent months — and some Clinton superdelegates are considering a move to Obama.

In December, an Associated Press tally had Hillary ahead by 108 superdelegates. In February her lead was down to 87, and it now stands at just 30.

There she goes again... Hillary cries during King address

Senator Hillary Clinton's voice quivered as she recounted her recollection of the day Martin Luther King Jr. was assassinated.  On the 40th anniversary of King's death, Clinton spoke at  Mason Temple Church of God in Christ in Memphis TN.  She addressed the crowd in the annex of the church located behind a larger church where King spoke before dying the following day...

Hillary denies denial after 'mishearing'

First she "misspoke," now she misheard.

Hillary Clinton yesterday seemed to deny that she told New Mexico Gov. Bill Richardson that Barack Obama could not win the presidency.

But her campaign later said she misheard a reporter's question...

Hillary jokes about sniper fire on Leno Show

Hillary Clinton made fun of herself Thursday, telling "Tonight Show" host Jay Leno she almost didn't make it to his studio.

"It is so great to be here, I was so worried I wasn't going to make it. I was pinned down by sniper fire," Clinton said after joining him onstage, referring to her claims—since disputed—that she dodged sniper bullets while arriving in Bosnia as first lady. Clinton later said she had "misspoke."

Hillary to Leno: Bill 'gets carried away'

Asked by Leno about Bill getting "red-faced" and upset recently Clinton said, "when you are supporting someone you love you really do take it very much to heart. I told him ‘OK honey that's all right we don't have to go get excited about it.' So he's uh he's doing a great job for me, but he gets a little carried away sometimes."

Clinton camp feels spent, and outspent

Clinton plans to launch a new Internet program today that lets supporters choose where their money will go, much as wedding guests select gifts from a registry. Instead of china and crystal, users can purchase campaign signs, van rentals, airtime on radio stations and doorknob advertisements.

Even Clinton's most energetic boosters expressed exhaustion by the call to raise more money. "I'll tell you, after a year of doing this, it's like asking me to run a half-marathon after I've run a marathon," said Mark A. Aronchick, a co-chairman of Clinton's Pennsylvania campaign, who is organizing five fundraisers over the next eight days.

Clinton, too, had a hint of resignation in her answer to reporters asking whether she is now being outspent "two to one" by Obama. "Sometimes three to one, four to one, five to one," she said with a laugh. "I'm getting used to being outspent."

Bill: I remember when Hillary tried to join the Army

Possibly to avoid being one-upped on Indiana national security politics, former President Bill Clinton told a crowd in Columbus, Indiana, today that his wife had tried to join the Army.

"I remember when we were young, right out of law school, she went down and tried to join the Army and they said 'Your eyes are so bad, nobody will take you,'" he said, after heralding her record on issues of concern to the military, such as body armor and access to health care.

I assume this is a version of the "Hillary Clinton tried to join the Marines" anecdote that then-First Lady Clinton told in 1994 that we wondered about since it's a story she never seems to have told again.