The Republicans are surging nationwide in the final days before the election and have closed the gap in a number of key races. Will it be enough for them to hold onto the House or Senate? Let's take a closer look at all of the battleground states.

I know you will all be shocked by this, but the Bush administration pushed the Iraqis to declare a verdict in the Saddam Hussein trial in order for a more favorable election result for the GOP. This is yet another sign that the Bush administration will do absolutely anything to manipulate the ignorant electorate.

The battle for control of the Senate is starting to come into better focus. Some new polls have been released that show some challengers fading away and others coming on strong.

Depending on who you listen to, the Democrats are expected to pick up anywhere from 15 to 50 seats in the House next week. Picking up 50 seats is highly unlikely, but the Democrats need only the 15 to regain control of the House. MyDD has a detailed forecast of many of the House races and predicts a Democratic gain of between 21-26 seats.

John Kerry was making some jokes at the expense of President Bush in a speech yesterday, but that didn't stop the Republicans from splicing his speech and making him sound like he doesn't support the troops.

A new movie called "Shut Up and Sing" chronicles the backlash against the Dixie Chicks, after lead singer Natalie Maines said that the group was ashamed that the President was from their home state of Texas. Well, NBC has decided that they want to censor a movie about censorship and freedom of speech.

It's really a shame that we cannot have an honest debate in this country about what to do in Iraq. If you cut through the politics, you realize that both the left and the right have legitimate arguments about Iraq and both sides are interested in protecting the lives of Americans and American soldiers.

The Senate race in Tennessee is getting extremely ugly as Republican and Democratic operatives move in to battle it out. A recent negative ad from the Republican camp is being aired and is laced with sexual and racial overtones against Democrat Harold Ford Jr., an African-American candidate.

The mid-term elections are now only 15 days away and it appears that the most significant battleground states will be Tennessee and Missouri. The Democrats need to pick up six seats to regain control of the Senate and all indications are that they will definitely win four.

President Bush has decided that now he wants to sit down with his generals and discuss the failing strategy in Iraq. Nearly 3,000 American soldiers have died, but not until he is danger of losing the House and Senate does he try to do something.