THE CANDIDATES:

John McCain... today's headlines with excerpts

McCAIN EXITS CAMPAIGN MONEY RACE

Based on new financial disclosure reports released Sunday, and interviews with his finance team, the Republican Party’s presumptive nominee will instead accept taxpayer money to finance his general election and share other costs with the Republican National Committee.

McCain visiting poor areas of U.S.

Republican presidential candidate John McCain spends this week visiting economically struggling areas of the United States to show Americans he is a different kind of Republican.

McCain's trip is part of a bid to attract more independent voters who could be crucial in the November election...

McCain claims racial high ground

McCain aides ... are acutely aware of the unique challenges that would come in running against the first African-American nominee and the need to stake out turf early that makes clear to both blacks and whites that a) he still won't forfeit any vote and b) he will appeal to, as Lincoln said, "our better angels" and keep his campaign on the racial high ground...

McCain reports improved fundraising but still lags

Rick Santorum: Republicans should support McCain

Now the question for conservatives is whether McCain fits the Reagan Axiom that someone you agree with on 80 percent of the issues is your friend, not your enemy....

As for the Reagan Axiom, given his opponent, McCain is close enough to 80 percent for government work. That is why I am going to vote for my friend - John McCain.

McCain spokesman: Obama 'recklessly dishonest'

McCain spokesman Tucker Bounds said: "It is clear that Barack Obama is intentionally twisting John McCain's words completely out of context. Obama is guilty of deliberately distorting John McCain's comments for pure political gain, which is exactly what Senator Obama was complaining about just yesterday."

McCain alleges Obama radical ties

Asked by host George Stephanopoulos whether he has any doubt that Obama shares his sense of patriotism, McCain brought the subject up.

“I'm sure he's very patriotic. But his relationship with Mr. Ayers is open to question,” McCain said.

“He became friends with him and spent time with him while the guy was unrepentant over his activities as a member of a terrorist organization, the Weathermen,” McCain said. “Does he condemn them? Would he condemn someone who says they're unrepentant and wished that they had bombed more?” 

McCain eases proposal for alternative to U.N.

McCain first proposed a league of democracies last year, describing a formal organization that could use military force as well as economic and diplomatic pressure. It would be organized by the U.S., much like NATO after World War II...

... Now, however, McCain says the group would not use military force, and would be an informal organization in which democratic nations come together in different groupings, depending on their concerns....
DNC goes after McCain on economy

The DNC is going after McCain in a paid TV spot starting April 22nd on national cable. It attacks McCain for saying it could be argued that we’re better off now than before the Bush presidency. The DNC uses McCain’s words at a debate, splices that with ominous-sounding (almost Exorcist-like) piano music and titles on screen combating McCain’s economic outlook.

 

Hillary Clinton... today's headlines with excerpts

Zogby Pennsylvania poll: Hillary gains in final weekend

She gained two points over the past 24 hours as Obama lost one point, and she now leads 48% to 42%, the latest polling shows.

Hillary needs record margins, turnout to catch Obama

To overtake Barack Obama in the nationwide popular vote, Hillary Clinton needs a bigger win in tomorrow's Pennsylvania primary than she has had in any major contest so far. And that's just for starters...

Pennsylvania undecideds flock to Clinton

Undecided Democratic primary voters who wait until Election Day before choosing a candidate have overwhelmingly gone with Sen. Hillary Rodham Clinton — a trend that she needs to continue in tomorrow's crucial Pennsylvania primary to claim a decisive victory.

Mrs. Clinton of New York bested rival Sen. Barack Obama of Illinois among voters making last-minute decisions by an average six-point margin in previous primaries, exit polls show, and about 9 percent remain undecided here.

Hillary slaps Obama for praising McCain

“Senator Obama said today that John McCain would be better for the country than George Bush,” Clinton said. “Now, Senator McCain is a real American patriot who has served our country with distinction, but Senator McCain would follow the same failed policies that have been so wrong for our country the last seven years.”

“We need a nominee who will take on John McCain, not cheer on John McCain. And I will be that nominee,” Clinton said.

'Vast right-wing conspiracy' leader's paper backs Hillary

Democrat Hillary Rodham Clinton was endorsed Sunday by the Pittsburgh Tribune-Review, whose owner and publisher, billionaire Richard Mellon Scaife, personally funded many of the investigations that led to President Clinton's impeachment in 1998.

Forced to buy health care? 'Bull' says Bill

He paraphrased the claims in Obama’s ad, saying, “‘Oh, it’s the end of the world. Oh, you’re gonna be forced to buy health care you can’t afford.’” He quickly added: “That’s bull. The only way you can afford it over the long run is that everyone is covered.”

Paglia: Why women shouldn't vote for Hillary

"...All women, on pain of excommunication from the feminist claque, must now support Hillary. Never mind her spotty record or her naked political expediency. Any woman with the temerity to endorse Barack Obama (as I do) is condemned as a "traitor" to her sex. "Gender is probably the most restricting force in American life," trumpeted Steinem earlier this year in an article promoting Hillary in the New York Times. Barriers of race, class or economics are waved away as mere frippery..."

Chelsea hits the gay bars

Chelsea Clinton stopped traffic Friday night as she wandered the streets of Philadelphia on a gay bar crawl, winning rave reviews for both her politics and her appearance.

Led around the neighborhood by Gov. Ed Rendell, Chelsea was mobbed by local gays and lesbians, as she walked from one club to the next. They ran up to hug her, posed for pictures and certainly invaded her personal space.

“I grabbed her ass,” one young woman exclaimed to her friends after snapping a picture with her arm around the former first daughter...