US election at-a-glance: 19-25 July

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WEEK IN A NUTSHELL

Barack Obama's tour of Europe and the Middle East dominates the week's headlines. His plan for troop withdrawals from Iraq gets endorsed by Iraqi officials, and his keynote speech at the Victory Column in Berlin is watched by 200,000 people. John McCain attacks Mr Obama, saying that Mr Obama would rather lose a war than lose an election, and that only sitting presidents should make speeches in foreign countries. His campaign spreads rumours (to columnist Robert Novak, among others) that he will be announcing the name of his running-mate this week, although no announcement ever materialises.

KEY QUOTES

"Sources close to Senator John McCain's presidential campaign are suggesting he will reveal the name of his vice presidential selection this week."Columnist Robert Novak

A throng of adoring fans awaits Senator Obama in Paris - and that's just the American press John McCain <a class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/7514708.stm">At-a-glance: 12-18 July</a>

"I've since been told by certain people that [the McCain's campaign's suggestion of an imminent running-mate announcement] was a dodge and that they were trying to get some publicity to rain on Obama's campaign - It's pretty reprehensible if it's true."Robert Novak feels used

"I had the courage and the judgment to say I would rather lose a political campaign than lose a war. It seems to me that Obama would rather lose a war in order to win a political campaign."John McCain criticises Barack Obama's position on the "surge"

"This is the ninth presidential campaign I've covered. I can't remember a more scurrilous statement by a major party candidate. It smacks of desperation. It renews questions about whether McCain has the right temperament for the presidency."Time magazine's Joe Klein objects to Mr McCain's attack on Mr Obama

"Tonight, I speak to you not as a candidate for president, but as a citizen - a proud citizen of the United States, and a fellow citizen of the world."Barack Obama, in his Berlin speech

"Barack Obama proclaim[s] himself a 'citizen of the world'. It makes you wonder whether he's running for president of America or secretary general of the United Nations."Editorial in the New York Sun

"A throng of adoring fans awaits Senator Obama in Paris - and that's just the American press." John McCain

"Virtually all of the evidence point[s] to a comfortable Obama/Democratic party victory in November. Trumpeting this race as a toss-up, almost certain to produce another nail-biter finish, distorts the evidence and does a disservice to readers and viewers who rely upon such punditry."Political scientists Alan Abramowitz, Thomas E Mann, and Larry J Sabato accuse the media of hyping the closeness of the race

NUMBER NEWS

As Barack Obama may have received rave reviews and spoken to massive crowds on his world tour, but while he was out of the country his polling numbers appeared to take a turn for the worse.

The daily tracking polls - from Rasmussen and Gallup - both showed Mr Obama's lead over John McCain narrow to just one or two points midweek.

And a series of Quinnipiac polls in key swing states all suggested that Mr Obama was losing ground.

In Wisconsin, the pollsters suggested Mr Obama's lead had decreased by two points from 13 to 11.

In Michigan, Mr Obama's lead was down from six points to four, while in Minnesota, his lead was down from 17 points to just two, the polls indicated.

And in Colorado, a Republican state in which Mr Obama has been consistently ahead for several months, Quinnipiac had Mr McCain in the lead, by two points.

The daily tracking polls both indicated an Obama resurgence by the end of the week, however, so there may yet be evidence that Mr Obama's overseas trip has improved his electoral prospects - rather than harmed them.

WEEKLY PICTURE

Mr Obama's speech in front of Berlin's Victory Column was watched by some 200,000 people