Facts about the U.S. presidential candidates

JOHN McCAIN

* McCain, who comes from a celebrated U.S. Navy family and turns 72 in August, would be the oldest person to assume the U.S. presidency. He was shot down during a combat mission over Vietnam in 1967 and, during 5 1/2 years as a prisoner of war, was subjected to frequent beatings and torture. First elected to the U.S. House of Representatives in 1982, McCain won the first of four Senate terms in 1986. In the past 15 years, McCain has been treated four times for skin cancer.

BARACK OBAMA

* Obama gave the keynote address at the 2004 Democratic convention before being elected a U.S. senator from Illinois. Obama, 46, would be the first black president. The first term senator is known for electrifying crowds with his eloquence and a vow to change the ways of Washington. His father was Kenyan and his mother a white woman from Kansas. He is a two-time best-selling author. While attracting wide support among African Americans, Obama eschewed the rhetoric of race struggle. He jumped into politics in 1996 and served in the Illinois State Senate for eight years.