US election diary

Kerry plays Viet card Kerry tried to burnish his national security credentials by vowing that he would hunt down terrorists with the same energy he used to pursue the Viet Cong. He accused Bush of allowing Osama bin Laden to "walk out of the back door".

Papers back contender

The Washington Post and the Chicago Sun-Times have endorsed Kerry for president. The Post said his wisdom and open-mindedness made him a stronger candidate than Bush.

Cheney's long bow

Vice-President Dick Cheney claimed the Soviet Union might still exist and Saddam Hussein dominate the Gulf if Kerry had been president in recent years.

Power in the press

John Wolfe might be the man who can shape American's future. Wolfe owns and publishes the daily Columbus Dispatch, the Ohio newspaper whose presidential endorsement is the most sought after in the United States. With polls in the crucial battleground state of Ohio showing Senator John Kerry and President George W. Bush neck and neck, persuading just a handful of undecided voters could make the difference. Yesterday the Dispatch, which has not endorsed a Democrat since 1916, plumped for Bush. The location of the Dispatch makes it particularly important. The north of the state tends to support the Democrats and the south is where the Republicans are strongest. Columbus is smack in the middle.

Elector snubs Bush

Richie Robb has become the first "elector" in America's electoral college to say he will not cast his vote for Bush. Robb is one of five Republican members of the electoral college from West Virginia, a swing state. A Vietnam veteran, he is angry at the attacks on Kerry's war record. In American history, only 10 members of the electoral college have voted contrary to the popular will.

State may split votes

Another dime on which this election may turn is Colorado's Amendment 36, which will split the state's electoral college votes proportionally if it's approved. Instead of the winner taking all of Colorado's nine votes, the winner would take five and the loser four. Most Coloradoans support the amendment, with a recent poll showing 47 per cent in favour and 35 per cent opposed.

Get off of my cloud

Two small private plane pilots were held for questioning after intruding on air space reserved for Bush's helicopter campaign tour in Florida, the Secret Service said.

- INDEPENDENT, REUTERS