... I honor [McCain's] service, and I respect his many accomplishments,
even if he chooses to deny mine."

THE CANDIDATES:

John McCain... today's headlines with excerpts

McCain sharpens his foreign policy attacks on Obama

Some of Mr. McCain’s main points of attack on Mr. Obama — including criticism of Mr. Obama’s previous statement that he would meet with leaders of enemy nations without preconditions — were amplified, sharpened versions of attacks that have been leveled at Mr. Obama by his main Democratic rival, Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton. Mr. McCain’s voice seemed to drip with sarcasm at times, as when he spoke of Mr. Obama’s call for more diplomacy with Iran.

“We hear talk of a meeting with the Iranian leadership offered up as if it were some sudden inspiration, a bold new idea that somehow nobody has ever thought of before,” Mr. McCain said. “Yet it’s hard to see what such a summit with President Ahmadinejad would actually gain, except an earful of anti-Semitic rants and a worldwide audience for a man who denies one Holocaust and talks before frenzied crowds about starting another.”

McCain to try to claim mantle of change

McCain lavishes praise on Hillary

"Yes, Sen. Clinton is still in the race," McCain acknowledged to scattered laughter among the conservative crowd.   "I have known Sen. Clinton, I admire her and I respect her.  She has inspired generations of American women to believe that they can reach the highest office in this nation and I respect that."

McCain's praise drew a nice if not boisterous round of applause --  but he wasn't done.

After noting that he and Clinton had "stark differences" on issues, McCain continued: "But I admire the campaign she has run and I think she deserves a great deal of credit."

McCain a one-term president?

The idea of making a one-term pledge was first reported by Marc Ambinder in his blog for The Atlantic.com, who wrote that some advisers had hoped to make it the central theme of his campaign kickoff speech in New Hampshire in the spring of 2007. Two aides to the McCain campaign, who were granted anonymity to discuss internal deliberations, said that the idea of a one-term pledge had been broached by some campaign advisers but was ultimately rejected by Senator McCain...
 

Hillary Clinton... today's headlines with excerpts

Hillary to withdraw later in week?

Senator Hillary Rodham Clinton invited fund-raisers and other supporters to an election-night rally in New York City where, aides said, she was prepared to deliver what they described as a farewell speech that summed up the case for her candidacy. They said Mrs. Clinton was not likely to withdraw from the race on Tuesday night, probably waiting until later in the week, once Mr. Obama’s victory appeared clear.

Hillary's one chance at redemption: St. Paul, MN tonight

If Hillary Rodham Clinton wants to restore her tattered reputation and repair the party she has shattered, there is only one place for her to be tonight: St. Paul, Minn.

That is where Barack Obama will kick off his general-election campaign tonight.

He chose the convention center in St. Paul because it is the very hall where Republicans will officially nominate John McCain later this summer.

Hillary staffers urged to turn in receipts

Clinton Campaign staffers and former campaign staffers are being urged by the Clinton campaign's finance department to turn in their outstanding expense receipts by the end of the week. That's a sign, to them, that the campaign wants to get its affairs in order soon. If Clinton were staying in the race, there'd be no real reason to collect these receipts now; she'd still be raising and spending money from the same primary campaign account. The campaign is in arrears to the tune of about $11 million.

Clinton donors poised to back Obama

Noah Mamet, a Democratic party consultant and fundraiser who has organised high-profile events in Los Angeles for Mrs Clinton, told the Financial Times that Mr Obama’s finances would be boosted by Mrs Clinton’s backers, when he wins the nomination.

As Clinton campaign winds down, a spouse remain wound up

Former President Bill Clinton took the microphone here on Monday and began with a lament that it might be his last day as a campaigner.

If so, he went out venting the kind of anger that has punctuated his efforts to put his wife in the White House....

... the Vanity Fair article injected back into the campaign subjects that Mr. Clinton’s supporters have sought to tamp down as baseless and unfair. Aides to Mr. Clinton and to Mrs. Clinton’s campaign spent much of the day fighting back against the article, which asked, above all, what had become of Mr. Clinton, once considered by some a politician without peer.

Mrs. Clinton’s campaign aides responded vigorously, turning the full force of their “war room” — a term epitomized by Mr. Clinton’s 1992 campaign — against Mr. Purdum and the magazine.

Clinton in negotiations with Obama to help pay off debt

One source close to a major donor said: “It’s not about the vice-presidency or any other position she might get. It’s about the money – in particular the Clinton family money.” The Obama campaign might have to reach deeply into its well-stocked coffers in order to secure the full support of Mrs Clinton and her husband Bill in the November general election...

At least 25 superdelegates reportedly poised to back Obama

With an expected late wave of support from congressional Democrats, Sen. Barack Obama appeared poised to secure enough delegates to earn his party's presidential nomination, perhaps even before the votes from the final two primaries in South Dakota and Montana are counted Tuesday night.

Amid signs Monday that Sen. Hillary Clinton's campaign may be preparing to exit the 16-month-old nomination fight soon, Obama appeared headed for the finish line with a potential victory rally Tuesday in St. Paul, in the same arena where Sen. John McCain is expected to accept the Republican nomination this summer....

Obama wins Rep. Clyburn's endorsement

It should surprise no one that Rep. James Clyburn (D-S.C.,) the highest ranking black in congressional leadership, has endorsed Sen. Barack Obama for the Democratic presidential nomination...

Obama pushes effort to claim victory tonight

Senator Barack Obama’s campaign began a concerted effort on Monday to rally undecided superdelegates around him so he can claim the Democratic presidential nomination after the primaries end on Tuesday night.

Obama carefully hones partisan image

As Mr. Obama stands poised to claim the crown of presumptive Democratic nominee, he is, gingerly, fitting himself with the cloth of a partisan Democrat despite having long proclaimed himself above such politics. That his shift in tone was inevitable and necessary, particularly as Mr. McCain, the presumptive Republican nominee, slashes at Mr. Obama as weak on Iran and terrorism, does not entirely diminish the cognitive dissonance.

Obama shifts towards Republicans on Iranians

Senator Obama's campaign, in advance of the candidate's speech to America's largest pro-Israel lobby, is highlighting the candidate's support for designating Iran's Revolutionary Guard forces as a foreign terrorist organization.

Ralph Nader... today's headlines with excerpts