I was reminded yesterday about how fascinatingly dense American politics is.  European eyes may swivel at the amount of money spent in US elections, and the extent of the political campaigning industry it supports, but with so many public servants subject to direct elections this is hardly surprising.

www.electoral-vote.com is a fantastic site that concentrates on the senate and major house races by doing a daily summation of that days independent opinion polls.

At the moment Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia all perilously close - but just in the Republicans camp.  With an overall prediction at the moment of 49Dem 51Rep such tight races could really make a difference.  Also worth while checking out is what's happened to the deselected Joe Liebermann in Connecticut (a strong lead in the polls that has narrowed only slightly since a new Democrat took over) and the story behind what's happening in Tom Delay's Texas-22 district now he's stand down with his name still on the ballot paper.

Also in the news

• Leo McKinstry foams against Richmond's decision (blogged on yesterday) in The Telegraph
  Though presented as an environmental measure, in truth this is little more than an act of class war against the affluent. It is a form of megalomania by the council to try to dictate patterns of car ownership within its boundaries.
  The Guardian leader seems to be coming from another angle!
  
• The Independent have a PA report on the Local Government White Paper - with the rather generous headline "Kelly to give local councils a bigger say"  More on this tomorrow.
• Peter Riddell in The Times gives his own version of the read-the-polls-with-a-pinch-of-salt story.