And finally, new Zogby polls show Dems leading in 11 of 15 races. To highlight a few: State Sen. Peter Roskam (R) trails Iraq war vet Tammy Duckworth (D) in IL 06 by 5 points. Rep. Mike Sodrel (R) trails ex-Rep. Baron Hill (D) in IN 09 by 8 points. And in VA 02, VA Beach Revenue Commis. Phil Kellam (D) leads Rep. Thelma Drake (R) 46-42.  ~Hotline

The success of Duckworth, if she retains the lead she currently had, will be symbolic of the entire election as the Democrat, who is also a veteran injured in the war, who was able to make the superior and more credible pitch on national security and amnesty because the national GOP has lost its way so badly.  My aunt and uncle live in IL-6 and have apparently been thoroughly turned off by Roskam’s campaign.  They are not regular Republican voters, but they are moderately conservative voters whom Roskam cannot afford to alienate.  The numbers show that my relatives are not the only ones who find Roskam unappealing.

Update: The Evans-Novak Report is either becoming extremely unreliable, or Zogby’s numbers are entirely wrong on IL-6.  Evans-Novak reports that it is Roskam leading by 5 points.  Personally, I am inclined to doubt this quite a lot.  Is it likely that the seat flipped in the direction of the GOP during one of the worst scandal weeks of the year for the GOP?  Not likely.