For Democrats, Even a Gain May Feel Like a Failure  —  In most midterm elections, an out-of-power party picking up, say, 14 seats in the House and five seats in the Senate could call it a pretty good night.  —  But for Democrats in 2006, that showing would mean coming up one seat shy of taking control of both the Senate and the House.

It's a Candidate Calling.  Again.  —  Republicans Deny Subterfuge as Phone Barrages Anger Voters  —  This year's heavy volume of automated political phone calls has infuriated countless voters and triggered sharp complaints from Democrats, who say the Republican Party has crossed the line …

Fla. GOP candidate snubs a visiting Bush  —  PENSACOLA, Fla. - The White House flashed its irritation at a Republican gubernatorial candidate in Florida who chose not to appear Monday with President Bush.  But if Bush was angry, he didn't show it.  —  "He's experienced.

Election season is bad time for slip of the quip  —  My face time with John Kerry has been brief but choice.  In 2003, I was at a campaign event in New Hampshire chatting with two old coots in plaid.  The senator approached and stopped in front of us.  The etiquette in primary season …

SEEING THE UNSEEN Part 1  —  Folks, as in The Olden Days, this is a long read.  It is an essay, not a blog entry.  Print it, copy and paste it, or just grab a cup of coffee and settle back.  —  Oh, and all the pictures enlarge with a click, if you are so inclined.  MMMnnnnn...pictures....

Re: Santorum Poll Released by Indicted Republican Operative  —  This poll raised a variety of concerns when it showed up in my mailbox this morning.  See below:  —  What is a very likely voter?  I've never seen that term in a poll before.  I've seen likely voter, registered voter and eligible voter …

U.S. envoy to Iraq likely quitting post  —  WASHINGTON - Zalmay Khalilzad, the plainspoken dealmaker and Republican insider who has won praise and criticism for attempts to broker Sunni political participation in Iraq's fragile government, is likely to quit his post as U.S. ambassador in Baghdad …

THE MYTH OF THE RATIONAL VOTER  —  There's an election tomorrow.  Do voters know what they're doing?  According to the typical economist — and many political scientists — the answer is "No, but it doesn't matter."  How could it not matter?  The main argument is that the public's errors cancel out.

N.Y. Plans to Make Gender Personal Choice  —  Separating anatomy from what it means to be a man or a woman, New York City is moving forward with a plan to let people alter the sex on their birth certificate even if they have not had sex-change surgery.  —  Under the rule being considered …

To: Our Readers  —  Democrats are set to gain 19 House seats, two Senate seats, and five governorships in tomorrow's elections.  It is a sign of Republicans' sorry state that, at this point, this is actually a very favorable outlook for them.  —  In the last day of the midterm election campaign …

Saddam will be hanged 'by end-January'  —  By Ned Parker of The Times in Baghdad  —  The former Iraqi dictator Saddam Hussein will be hanged by the end of January, a senior member of Nouri al-Maliki's Dawa party predicted today as an around-the-clock curfew kept the lid on sectarian violence …

Memorandum From RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman: Another Poll Confirms GOP Momentum  —  Memorandum From RNC Chairman Ken Mehlman: Another Poll Confirms GOP Momentum  —  TO: REPUBLICAN LEADERSHIP AND INTERESTED PARTIES  —  FROM: KEN MEHLMAN  —  RE: ANOTHER POLL CONFIRMS GOP MOMENTUM

Memories  —  Just in case you need some extra motivation to vote tomorrow, I've put together a small montage of our Republican government's finest moments over the last six years.  I hope you enjoy.  —  Memories...  ...light the corners of my mind...  ...misty water-colored memories...

Saddam: a tribute  —  Three months ago, Tony Blair warned the world that an "arc of extremism" now stretches across the Middle East from Iran to Lebanon.  This phenomenon, he suggested, threatens the survival of the very values on which western society is based.  Yet, when Blair came to power, no such claim could have been made.