On this day in 1790 one the nation's (even the world's) most fascinating men, Benjamin Franklin, dies in Philadelphia. On to today's top stories:

"Democrats Meet in Feisty Debate" (Amy Chozick and Nick Timiraos, Wall Street Journal) In what might have been the last debate between these two, Hillary Clinton came out swinging and connected more than she missed. Obama, as the frontrunner, was on the defensive for the first-half of the night and saved, it seems, only by a shift in the questioning.

"'60s Radicals Become Issue in Campaign of 2008" (Larry Rohter and Michael Luo, New York Times) Will we ever move beyond the '60s? Obama's association with William Ayers, a former member of the violent Weather Underground organization, came up last night and put the candidate on the defensive.

"AP-Yahoo Poll Shows McCain Winning Back Unhappy Republicans" (Alan Fram and Trevor Tompson, Associated Press) The question is asked often enough: Is the prolonged Democratic primary good for McCain? The polls suggest that, at the very least, it certainly hasn't been bad for him. McCain is doing quite well in national polls at the moment, thanks to a disciplined message and few gaffes.

"Murtha Says McCain Too Old to be President" (Nedra Pickler, Associated Press) Beneath Jack Murtha's knocking McCain's age (which McCain laughed off) is something serious. How big of an issue will McCain's age be in the fall?

"Bush Seeks Voluntary Curb On Greenhouse Gas Emissions" (Juliet Eilperin, Washington Post) With all three presidential candidates agreeing for the most part on global warming, it seems the issue will be muted in the fall election. What might happen is that the Democratic candidate will knock McCain for what Bush has or hasn't done. Was the president's speech yesterday a way of further diminishing the issue, or a fairly weak effort at establishing a legacy?

"Superdelegates Watt, Price endorse Obama" (Liz Zagaroli and David Ingram, Charlotte Observer) The two endorsements from NC superdelegates, while important in themselves, further highlights the problem Clinton will have post-Pennsylvania. She will likely get swamped in North Caroline, perhaps wiping out whatever goodwill comes on April 22.

"Bruce Springsteen Endorses Obama for President" (Joan Lowy, Associated Press) Not a surprise really. What is a surprise is that the Boss hadn't endorsed Obama earlier.

"GOP Is Cool to McCain's Economics" (Manu Raju and Jackie Kucinich, The Hill) The economic issue might be a losing proposition for McCain no matter what he says. He won't be able to out-populist the Democrats, but at the same time he won't be able to appease his GOP colleagues.

"British Prime Minister to Meet With Presidential Candidates" (Barry Schweid, Associated Press) Going three-for-three in meeting with the presidential candidates today, PM Gordon Brown will likely discuss Iraq and help form the foundations for a continuation of the "special relationship."

Get today's other election stories at RCP's Politics and Election page.