UPDATE: As Election Looms, Polls Shift and Newspapers Hedge -- and What's This About 'Robo-Calls'?

By: E&P Staff As Americans head to the polls in the still-uncertain midterm elections, the nation's top newspapers had one clear message: The GOP, as some have claimed, seems to be gaining back votes, but it's unclear whether this last-minute push will be enough to stop a Democratic takeover, at least in the House.

A USA Today/Gallup poll predicts that the Democrats have five of the six seats it needs to gain control in the Senate, but GOP gains in Tennessee and Virginia may have pulled those seats out of the Democratic column. Except that some polls show Jim Webb, the Democrat, winning in Virginia.

But, in general, polls were all over the place. The oft-quoted "generic" polls of who voters want to win in Congress showed a Democratic edge of anywhere from 5% to 20%. The Washington Post's final poll showed a Democratic edge of only 6% -- but more recent polls from Fox (13%) and CNN (20%) seemed to dispute those who claimed a rising GOP tide.

The president's approval rating went up in some polls, down in others, but almost always below 41%.

Individual races were also votatile, with Webb supposedly opening a lead over Sen. George Allen, even as Rhode Island might slide back to the Republicans -- and so on. Consensus seemed to hold that the Democrats would still get the 15 of more House seats they need to take over, but perhaps fall short in the Senate.

The Washington Post main story on Election Day opens:

"As the 2006 campaign staggered to an angry close, national security and the Iraq war dominated the final-day debate of midterm elections in which national themes, not simply local choices, have framed the most competitive races. Democrats said that a vote for them would force change in Iraq strategy, while President Bush led the GOP charge in warning that the opposition party cannot be trusted in a time of war.

"Dozens of too-close-to-call House and Senate races finished on a surly tone, as the traditional political strategy of shifting to a positive message at the end gave way this year to a calculation that the best chance to tip the balance was through continued attacks over personal character and alleged corruption."

CNN's Bill Schneider released numbers that showed no "bump" for the GOP from the sentencing of Saddam Hussein.

President Bush predicted a GOP win and some Democrats curbed their optimism a bit -- giving them a better platform to proclaim a huge win if it happens. The GOP has the edge in voter turnout, and Democrats in some districts were charging the Republicans with "robo-call" dirty tricks. The New York Times posted a story on this on its Web site late Monday, and the Washington Post put it this way:

"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 in bombarding households with recorded attacks on candidates in tight House races nationwide.

"Some voters, sick of interrupted dinners and evenings, say they will punish the offending parties by opposing them in today's elections. But critics say Republicans crafted the messages to delude voters -- especially those who hang up quickly -- into thinking that Democrats placed the calls."

The New York Times wraps it all up this way on Tuesday: "Most independent analysts predicted a strong Democratic wave on Tuesday, but Republicans found a glimmer of hope in a handful of weekend polls that showed the percentage of voters saying they planned to vote for Democrats dipping slightly. And Democratic officials acknowledged that Senate seats they thought they had wrapped up -- in Maryland, Montana, New Jersey and Rhode Island -- were no longer sure things."

As each party makes its usual last-minute efforts, The Washington Post talked of the confidence of Republican strategists, while Democratic counterparts sounded concerned. But the Post also reported a sense of cautiousness from members of both parties who are carefully campaigning to bring out loyal voters -- not the undecided ones, who might vote against their candidates.

The Chicago Tribune's national election coverage focused on the president's campaign stops in Nebraska and Kansas, which the paper called very defensive, given that they are GOP-leaning states.

The Los Angeles Times' top election story, titled "Voter Anger Threatens Republican Strategies," reversed the common point of view that Democratic campaigning caters to special interests. The story contrasted Rep. E. Clay Shaw Jr.'s (R-Fla.) distribution of specialized campaigns ads to different demographics, including Spanish and Jewish voters, with Democratic challenger Ron Klein's uniform message: Iraq is a mess.