Q: At what point in a presidential campaign does a candidate receive Secret Service protection?
—Clay Hudson, Newnan
A: Candidates, according to law, must be identified as "major presidential and vice presidential candidates" by the "Secretary of Homeland Security after consultation with an advisory committee consisting of the Speaker of the House of Representatives, the minority leader of the House of Representatives, the majority and minority leaders of the Senate, and one additional member selected by the other members of the committee," according to secretservice.gov. Those candidates and their spouses are required to have protection up to within 120 days of the general election, but Barack Obama was under protection starting on May 3, 2007, about 18 months before the 2008 election, the earliest a candidate has been provided Secret Service security, an NPR.com story said. As a former first lady, Hillary Clinton had a security detail throughout her campaign, but John McCain declined protection until about five months before the election. The Secret Service began protecting presidential candidates after Sen. Robert Kennedy was assassinated on June 5, 1968.
Q: The new group of celebrities for Dancing With the Stars has been announced. What is the procedure for matching the celebrity with the professional dancer?
—Jerry Schwartz, Alpharetta
A: The pairings are based on factors such as height as well as who show officials think will get along and who has good chemistry, ABC officials told Q&A on the News.
Lori Johnston wrote this column. Do you have a question about the news? We’ll try to get the answer. Call 404-222-2002 or e-mail q&a@ajc.com (include name, phone and city).
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