Obama Presses for Iraqi Reforms

Democratic presidential hopeful U.S. Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., speaks during a town hall meeting, Saturday, March 10, 2007, in Dubuque, Iowa. (AP Photo/Charlie Neibergall) (Charlie Neibergall - AP)

On the Iraq war, McCain said the "titanic" struggle pits supporters of the nation's values against those of radical fundamentalism.

"We lose this war and come home, they'll follow us home," McCain said.

Asked why some have criticized him for not being conservative enough and why he is trailing former New York Mayor Rudy Giuliani in the polls, McCain said Giuliani is "an American hero" who did important work in the wake of Sept. 11.

"I think you should judge people by their record," McCain said. "I am conservative across the board and I will match my record with anybody in America much less anybody who is running."

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RENO, Nev. (AP) _ Republican presidential hopeful Rudy Giuliani defended Newt Gingrich, who has admitted having an extramarital affair as he pursued President Clinton's impeachment after the Monica Lewinsky affair.

Giuliani, speaking to reporters during a campaign stop late Saturday afternoon in Reno, said the episode shows no one is perfect and the former House speaker can learn from it.

"I think the American people realize, and I'm speaking for myself now, we've made a lot of mistakes, and hopefully we've done some good things in our lives and it's probably always been that way," he said.

"The American people have to judge who is the most effective leader. They will not find a perfect person, and that's probably good because we all have imperfections. Sometimes when you go through things like that in your life, you can become a better person," he said.

Giuliani, who has been married three times and has chilly relations with his children, visited Reno for a private, $1,000-per-person fundraiser.

While he called Gingrich "one of the smartest people in American politics," the former New York City mayor said it was premature to say whether he would consider him as a running mate.

Many polls identify Giuliani as the front-runner in the Republican presidential primary. Gingrich is considered a possible GOP presidential contender, although he has not announced any intention to run.

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COLUMBIA, S.C. (AP) _ South Carolina is back on track to hold the first Democratic presidential debate after organizers of a debate next month in New Hampshire moved their event back to June.

The candidates have made firm commitments to House Majority Whip Jim Clyburn to appear at the April 26 debate at his alma mater, South Carolina State University in Orangeburg, said Morton Brilliant, the chairman of the South Carolina Democratic Party.

The 90-minute debate at the historically black college will be televised by the MSNBC cable network.

"South Carolina is going to be the key to the primary in 2008. And it's clear that we now have the first full debate of the campaign," Brilliant said.

New Hampshire had originally scheduled Republican and Democratic presidential debates for April 4 and April 5, but many of the leading candidates couldn't come because of trips to Iraq or other scheduling conflicts. The debates have now been moved back to June.

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HOUSTON (AP) _ Rep. Ron Paul, a strict constitutionalist and fierce anti-war critic, will formally declare his candidacy for the Republican presidential nomination Monday when he appears as a guest on a C-SPAN call-in program, a campaign official said.

Paul, R-Texas, created a presidential exploratory committee in January, allowing him to begin collecting money on behalf of his bid. Kent Snyder, chairman of that committee, said Saturday that Paul would make his candidacy official on Monday.

It will be Paul's second try for the White House. He was the Libertarian nominee for president in 1988.

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Associated Press writers Jim Davenport in South Carolina, Holly Ramer in New Hampshire, Martin Griffith in Nevada and Joe Stinebaker in Texas contributed to this report.