US election at-a-glance: 23 Oct

DAY IN A NUTSHELL

John McCain begins his "Joe the plumber" tour, as Barack Obama stops campaigning to visit his unwell grandmother in Hawaii.

KEY QUOTES

"Someone called me a redneck woman once and you know what I said back? I said, 'Why thank you'."
Sarah Palin

"We are leaning more in favour of Barack Obama because he is more flexible and rational"
Ali Larijani
Speaker, Iranian Parliament

US election at-a-glance: 22 Oct

"The Sunni awakening changed the dynamic in Iraq fundamentally.... Whether there are those same opportunities in Afghanistan I think should be explored."
Barack Obama

"He accidentally delivered some straight talk to America."
John McCain on Joe Biden's comment that Barack Obama would face security "tests" if elected

"[John McCain] doesn't have much of a steady hand these days. Now's the time we most need a steady hand."
Joe Biden

"We are leaning more in favour of Barack Obama because he is more flexible and rational, even though we know American policy will not change that much."
Ali Larijani, Speaker of the Iranian Parliament

NUMBER NEWS

Barack Obama maintains his strong lead in the daily tracking polls, with an improved showing in almost all of them.

He is also doing well in the mid-western swing states, polls from the University of Wisconsin suggest.

They have him up by 13 points in Wisconsin, 11 in Pennsylvania, 12 in Ohio, 19 in Minnesota, 22 in Michigan, 13 in Iowa, 10 in Indiana and 29 points in his home state of Illinois.

DAILY PICTURE