US election at-a-glance: 20 Feb

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DAY IN A NUTSHELL

All three Clintons - Hillary, Bill and Chelsea - work the campaign trail in Texas, Hillary after an early fundraising event in New York. Barack Obama, riding the swell of 10 straight wins after taking Wisconsin and Hawaii in Tuesday's Democratic primaries, is also in the Lone Star state. He reportedly bags the endorsement of the sizeable Teamsters union. Republican John McCain and Mr Obama spar over the latter's commitment - or not - to limit himself to public funding for the general election.

KEY QUOTES

"We have opened up a big and meaningful pledged delegate lead. They are going to have to win landslides from here on out to erase it."David Plouffe, campaign manager for Mr Obama, on Mrs Clinton's prospects

"It is another bleak Wednesday for Hillary Clinton's campaign, the second in as many weeks in which she has awakened to the aftermath of what President Bush would call a thumpin'."Dan Balz, Washington Post

That smug, elitist, arrogant attitude toward many of us who are in this race is going to backfire on a lot of Republicans Mike Huckabee,Speaking about pressure from the party establishment to quit <a class="" href="/1/hi/world/americas/7253152.stm">At-a-glance: 19 Feb</a>

"This whole nominating process has come down to Texas and Ohio. If she wins in Texas and Ohio, she will win in Pennsylvania and I believe she will win the nomination."Former President Bill Clinton, campaigning for his wife Hillary in Texas

"An exchange of charges this morning between John McCain and a senior adviser to Barack Obama marks the first time the two frontrunner campaigns have conversed about foreign policy. Welcome to the new normal: presidential politics without Hillary Clinton."Marc Ambinder, The Atlantic.com

NUMBER NEWS

The exit polls from Wisconsin - a state whose largely white, blue-collar electorate should have favoured Mrs Clinton based on previous primaries - hold discouraging portents for her campaign.

The New York senator lost her lead among women, lesser-educated and lower-income voters, splitting them almost evenly with Mr Obama. Meanwhile, more than six in 10 men - including the same proportion of white men - supported Mr Obama.

He also beat Mrs Clinton by 31% among independent voters, according to ABC, and among first-time voters. His lead among voters under 30 was huge - 70% to Mrs Clinton's 26%.

The latest Reuters/Zogby national presidential preference poll released on Wednesday suggested Mr Obama had opened up a 14 point lead over Mrs Clinton. It also found that he would beat Mr McCain 47% to 40% in a general election contest, while Mr McCain would beat Mrs Clinton by 50% to 38%.

DAILY PICTURE

Hillary Clinton must find a way to rally from 10 straight defeats at the hands of Democratic rival Barack Obama