McCain to accept Secret Service protection

A day after the head of the Secret Service publicly told a congressional panel that John McCain is not under his agency's protection, the presumptive Republican nominee said today that he plans to accept a security detail soon.

"I think that it's important as we get more and more visibility that we recognize the inevitable," McCain told Fox News in an interview to air in full on Sunday.

McCain said his campaign will talk to the Secret Service next week about the arrangements, which could start in the next few weeks "if not earlier." Alone among the major presidential contenders, the Arizona senator has turned down official protection because, he told Fox, "it inhibits my ability to have close contact with people."

Democrat Barack Obama began receiving Secret Service protection last May, while Hillary Clinton already had protection because she is a former first lady.