McCain says he'd be ready for a crisis

PHOENIX - Republican John McCain said yesterday that he - and not his rivals - is best prepared to deal with a dead-of-night national emergency.

Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama have disagreed in recent days over who would exercise superior judgment in the case of such a crisis after a Clinton TV ad in Texas questioned Obama's readiness. "It's 3 a.m. and your children are safe and asleep. But there's a phone in the White House, and it's ringing," her ad begins.

"I would believe that my knowledge and experience and background clearly indicates that if the phone rang at 3 a.m. in the White House, and I was the one to answer it, I would be the one most qualified to exercise the kind of judgment necessary to address a national security crisis," McCain, a four-term senator from Arizona, told reporters.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. - The National Archives said yesterday that it expects to release Hillary Clinton's schedules from when her husband was president this month, but has asked a judge to delay the release of her phone logs for one to two years.

Susan Cooper, a spokeswoman for the National Archives, said a representative of former President Clinton has reviewed about 10,000 pages of Hillary Clinton's schedules and approved them for release last week. The archives will soon notify the White House, which must also sign off on the papers' release.

The archives said in court papers filed Saturday that it needs more time to process 20,000 pages of the candidate's phone logs that have also been sought by Judicial Watch, a conservative public interest group that has accused the library of delaying the release of the documents.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

HOUSTON - Barack Obama barely knew the Kenyan-born father whose name he carries.

But for many Kenyans living in the United States, the presidential contender is one of their own - a true son of Kenya, a cause for national pride.

"I feel a strong sense of connection to him. The things that made us come to America could have been the same things that made his dad come here," said Michael Njoroge, 33, a Houston information technology consultant.

Among Kenyans in Houston, New York, Minneapolis,and other Kenyan strongholds around the United States, the excitement surrounding Obama is palpable. In San Diego, Kenyan rugby fans cheered "Obama, ni wetu!" (Obama is ours!)

That fervent support, however, is not universally shared by immigrants from other African countries. "Kenya's not our country. If you had picked someone from Somalia, that would be a huge difference," said Hani Ali, 25, a Somali refugee who lives in Ohio. Ali is supporting Clinton.

ASSOCIATED PRESS

Most celebrity endorsers just issue a statement or show up at a rally.

But if you're Jack Nicholson, you create your own ad for Hillary Clinton, interspersing scenes from some of your most famous movie roles with praise for Clinton, and put it on YouTube, where it has been viewed more than 1 million times since its release Friday.

After Nicholson's character in "Five Easy Pieces" says, "OK, I'll make it as easy for you as I can," text appears on the screen: "We need Hillary Clinton as our next President."

The ad also features clips from, among other flicks, "Batman" "Chinatown, and "A Few Good Men."

FOON RHEE