US election at-a-glance: 26 Apr-2 May

WEEK IN A NUTSHELL

Barack Obama's former pastor, Reverend Jeremiah Wright, again makes the headlines with a series of public appearances in which he defends himself against the barrage of criticism that erupted last month after the airing of clips of his controversial sermons. His statements provoke another media storm, prompting Mr Obama to make a speech distancing himself further from Rev Wright. Hillary Clinton and John McCain both come out in favour of a summer gas-tax holiday, a policy characterised by the Obama campaign as "pandering" to voters.

KEY QUOTES

"You cannot do terrorism on other people and expect it never to come back on you. Those are biblical principles, not Jeremiah Wright bombastic principles."
Jeremiah Wright refuses to withdraw his assertion that the 9/11 attacks were America's chickens coming "home to roost"

[Voters] will want to know more about [Mr McCain] personally than he has been willing to reveal

Karl Rove

At-a-glance: 19-25 Apr

"The person that I saw yesterday was not the person that I met 20 years ago. His comments were not only divisive and destructive, but I believe that they end up giving comfort to those who prey on hate."
Barack Obama on his former pastor

"When it comes to choosing a president, the American people want to know more about a candidate than policy positions... For Mr McCain, that means they will want to know more about him personally than he has been willing to reveal."
Karl Rove

"This is not the end of Western civilization. This does not solve our dependence on foreign oil. It gives low-income Americans... a little bit of a break for the summer."
John McCain defends his gas-tax holiday

"The oil companies are doing very well, and it's high time that they helped to relieve the burden of high gas prices on our families and our businesses."
Hillary Clinton defends her gas tax holiday proposal

NUMBER NEWS

The biggest political event of the week was the row over Barack Obama's former pastor, which commentators suggested would damage Mr Obama.

This week's polls suggest that the commentators were right.

The daily Gallup tracking poll, which had indicated a solid lead for Mr Obama before Mr Wright's re-emergence, now gives Mrs Clinton a narrow lead (with 48% to Mr Obama's 46%).

In North Carolina, where polls had suggested that Mr Obama held a double-digit lead, the race is now tightening.

Post-Wright, SurveyUSA gave him only a five point lead and Research 2000 gave him a seven-point lead. One poll - from Insider Advantage - even gave Mrs Clinton a narrow lead (although its sample contained fewer African-American voters than might be expected in the state).

Polls in Indiana also suggest that Mr Obama has been hurt by the Wright flap.

Before the controversy, Mr Obama was tying with Mrs Clinton in most surveys, but afterwards, she appears to have built up a consistent lead.

SurveyUSA gave Mrs Clinton a nine-point lead (52%-43%), PPP gave her an eight-point margin (50%-42%), and TeleResearch gave the New York senator a ten-point lead over Mr Obama in the Hoosier State.

WEEKLY PICTURE