THEY NEED ALL THE HELP THEY CAN GET

McCain, Richardson: We'll Go On Imus Show

The NEW YORK DAILY NEWS has checked with presidential candidates to see which would go on DON IMUS' new show if and when the host returns to radio as morning man at CITADEL Talk WABC-A/NEW YORK, and only two -- Democcrat BILL RICHARDSON and Republican JOHN MCCAIN -- responded by saying that they'd do IMUS' show.

MCCAIN said, "I believe in redemption, and I've made so many mistakes in my life and I've asked people to give me another opportunity. What he did was unacceptable, but all of us in life, I think, ought to be able to move forward." RICHARDSON's press secretary TOM REYNOLDS told the NEWS that the candidate "strongly believes this is a society of forgiveness and second chances, and that the radio host has paid his debt for his mistake."

Among the other candidates, BARACK OBAMA said through a spokesperson that he "does not intend to go on the show and hopes that Imus has learned from the hurt and pain he caused," HILLARY CLINTON's spokesperson said that the candidate " hasn't done it before. I can't imagine her ever doing it in the future," and RUDY GIULIANI did not comment, although he previously said that he would not stay away from the show.

The paper checked candidates' positions after it ran an op-ed article this weekend from former presidential candidate BOB KERREY calling on candidates to appear on the show. The KERREY article warned that "Democrats in particular may fear the wrath of the AL SHARPTONS of the world and feel pressured to stay away. We can't afford to start putting our interviewers through purity tests."

SHARPTON, responding to KERREY, repeated his veiled threat of a boycott of IMUS advertisers and said "If I'm running for office, I want to reach as many people as possible. But I also don't want to abandon the voters that I need the most, and for Democrats, that's women and black people."