US election at-a-glance: 30 Sept

DAY IN A NUTSHELL

The candidates offer up proposals to make the bail-out bill more attractive to their colleagues in Congress, while CBS airs more clips of their interviews with Sarah Palin.

KEY QUOTES

"I am disappointed at the lack of resolve and bipartisan goodwill among members of both parties to fix this problem."
John McCain

I'm the new energy, the new face, the new ideas and [Joe Biden's] got the experience based on many, many years in the Senate

Sarah Palin

Day at a glance: 29 September

"Democrats blocked the reforms."
McCain campaign ad

"Most people would take hiring someone for a summer job more seriously."
Virginia Goverrnor Tim Kaine on John McCain's running-mate choice

"There's nothing more unattractive to Virginia voters than a bitter political bridesmaid."
McCain spokeswoman Gail Gitcho thinks Tim Kaine is bitter not to have been chosen as Barack Obama's running-mate

"I'm the new energy, the new face, the new ideas and [Joe Biden's] got the experience based on many, many years in the Senate and voters are gonna have a choice there of what it is that they want in these next four years."
Sarah Palin

NUMBER NEWS

Barack Obama maintains his lead in all four daily tracking polls, with a six point lead (according to Hotline/Diageo, Gallup and Rasmussen), and a 10-point lead (according to Research 2000).

Of the state-wide polls that stand out, the most notable are ARG's surveys of voters in North Carolina and Virginia, both of which give John McCain a small lead (contrary to other recent polls from those states).

There is more good news for Mr McCain in Ohio, where Survey USA has him leading by one point, and Nevada, where ARG has him leading by two points.

But in Florida, a PPP poll gives Barack Obama a three-point lead, and in Indiana, Survey USA have Mr Obama just three points behind.

Previous polls of both states have given Mr McCain comfortable leads.

DAILY PICTURE