Obama, Clintons to converge

SELMA: Democratic rivals Barack Obama and Hillary Rodham Clinton, along with former President Bill Clinton, take their high-voltage fight for the White House to a hallowed symbol of the US civil rights movement on Sunday. 

The trio of political stars descends on the small town of Selma, Alabama, for a series of events commemorating the 42nd anniversary of the 1965 civil rights march, a historic milestone in the drive to end racial segregation in America’s South.

The early campaign collision between Clinton and Obama, the top two contenders for the 2008 Democratic presidential nomination, is another sign of the budding intensity of their rivalry.

Obama, who hopes to become the first black president in US history, had been scheduled to give the keynote address at the ceremonies for weeks. Clinton, refusing to cede any black support to Obama, decided to attend as well. The two candidates will give nearly simultaneous speeches in Selma churches less than a block apart.

Bill Clinton will receive a civil rights award during the ceremonies in what will be his first campaign appearance with his wife since she entered the White House race in January. Obama will begin the day early at a unity prayer breakfast in Selma.