US election at-a-glance: 18 Jan

DAY IN A NUTSHELL

On the eve of crucial contests in South Carolina (for the Republicans) and Nevada (for both parties), candidates make last-minute efforts to appeal to voters. Hillary Clinton and Barack Obama campaign hard in Nevada, while all of the Republicans - apart from Mitt Romney who is concentrating on Nevada - attend campaign events throughout South Carolina. Mr Romney appears on Jay Leno's talk show.

Nevada: background on caucuses

South Carolina: background on primary

KEY QUOTES

"Politics in South Carolina has been, from the very beginning, since colonial times, kind of a blood sport."
Trey Walker, adviser to John McCain

I shall not be voting for Mrs Clinton, who has the gall to inform me after a career of overweening entitlement that there is 'a double standard' at work for women in politics Christopher Hitchens Wall Street Journal At-a-glance: 17 Jan

"Despite the best efforts of the McCain campaign to convince folks otherwise - and they have swayed many - this South Carolina GOP primary is shaping up to be among the tamest ever."
Jonathan Martin, Politico.com

"[Mike Huckabee] should open a strategic-communications firm the day after he leaves the presidential race. The ability to gull analysts into making so much from so little is a rare and potentially lucrative talent."
Rich Lowry, New York Post

"I shall not vote for Sen. Obama and it will not be because he - like me and like all of us - carries African genes. And I shall not be voting for Mrs Clinton, who has the gall to inform me after a career of overweening entitlement that there is 'a double standard' at work for women in politics; and I assure you now that this decision of mine has only to do with the content of her character." Christopher Hitchens, Wall Street Journal

NUMBER NEWS

Two polls published today both suggest that Hillary Clinton is heading for victory in the Nevada Democratic caucus.

In a survey for the Las Vegas Review-Journal, the pollster Mason-Dixon has her on 41%, to Barack Obama's 32% and John Edwards's 14%.

And Reuters/C-SPAN/Zogby puts Mrs Clinton on 42%, five points ahead of Mr Obama on 37%.

Zogby also suggests that Mitt Romney has a commanding lead over his Republican rivals in Nevada, with 34% to John McCain's 19% and Mike Huckabee's 13%.

Both pollsters stress that polling the Nevada caucus is very tricky, because the state has never held such a high-profile contest before; with no relevant data on turnout in previous elections, pollsters find it difficult to make predictions about which people are more likely to vote.

DAILY PICTURE

After coming second in Iowa and third in New Hampshire, observers say John Edwards needs a good result in Nevada to stay in the race