Without much substantive news on a Sunday morning, the Midterm Roundup is forced to resort to inane non-jokes and stupid references to get itself through to the end. But if nothing else, the last item is worth a read.

MD-SEN: Iron Mike Soft as Steele

No, that headline doesn’t make any more sense to the Midterm Roundup than it does to you. Regardless, Mike Tyson returned to the ring Friday night and boxed wearing a Michael Steele for Senate T-shirt. The crowd booed him. Who’s to say what the causal relationship is between those two things.

Meanwhile the Wash Times’ opinion of the Steele campaign is that it’s… Too late for lame attempts to win the black vote. The Roundup would like to see them say that to Mike Tyson’s face.

KY-03: News!

Jack Horner: Do these politicians have names?

Dirk Diggler: The incumbent’s name is Anne Northup.

Reed Rothchild: Her challenger’s name is John Yarmuth.

Jack Horner: Those are some great names!

Sorry, the Roundup just had to do that. There is actually some real news here – a new SurveyUSA poll has this race effectively tied. Yarmuth (D) leads Northup (R) by 1, 48% to 47%.

Plus, the past couple days have seen a predictable escalation in the outrageousness of Republican attacks. The RNC tells people to vote Republican unless they want Al Qaeda to attack again; the NRCC alleges in an ad so ridiculous that 3 stations have chosen not to run it that NY-24 challenger Michael Arcuri (D) made calls to a sex hotline; House Majority Whip Roy Blunt (R) says that if the Democrats win they’ll try to create a Department of Peace; IL-06 challenger Peter Roskam (R) implies at a campaign rally Friday that Arabs have an interest in seeing his opponent Tammy Duckworth (D) win the election; the NRSC employs a fake naked Playboy playmate in ad against Harold Ford, Jr. (D); and the GOP assiduously tries to link WI-08 challenger Steve Kagen (D) to a convicted serial killer and child rapist. And that’s all in the past like, 3 days.

But few could have possibly imagined the depravity, the enormity, the downright inhumanity of this attack on John Yarmuth by Anne Northup: “Northup, R-Ky., said Yarmuth lacks the ethical standards to serve in public office because he repeatedly misled voters about how his campaign signs and door hangars were made.”

(Okay, in the interest of fairness, Northup also alleges that Yarmuth failed to pay taxes on his campaign workers' salaries.)

Yes, these attacks are savage and merciless. But there is hope for Democrats. As always, they would be incredibly wise to follow the example set by Joe Lieberman: “Upon hearing that Ned Lamont was about to launch his closing advertising blitz, Sen. Joseph I. Lieberman hastily called a press conference to pre-emptively denounce ads he'd never seen.” Teflon, baby.

Anyway, getting back to Ms. Northup… Just out of curiosity, Anne, how do you feel about the leader of your party? “Trying to focus voters, Northup said, is one reason she won't ask President George W. Bush to campaign for her. ‘I don't want this race to be a referendum on the president,’ Northup said.” No, no the Midterm Roundup certainly shouldn’t think so.

NC-13: Vernon Robinson No Joke?

Naaahhhhh, he’s still pretty much a joke. When you consider the goofiness of his ads, the bizarreness of his attacks, and the total lack of any chance he has of defeating Representative Brad Miller (D) on Election Day, it’s difficult to call the inflammatorily anti-gay, immigrant-bashing Vernon Robinson anything other than a joke. But as Salon’s Michael Scherer reports, Robinson’s campaign has actually been wildly successful on at least one count: “He has raised a seven-figure sum for his campaign -- a fundraising success he traces to a most unlikely political mentor, a man he has never met and probably never agreed with: Howard Dean, the chairman of the Democratic Party. National political handicappers give Robinson virtually no chance of winning -- but his campaign has turned on its head the idea that the so-called netroots are the exclusive domain of the political far left. In terms of mustering financial support and doing so fast, at least one candidate on the far right has now successfully jumped into the game.” Vernon Robinson: an uncannily successful fundraiser of a joke.

But stop right there. Maybe this will ultimately swing the race in Robinson’s favor: as a gesture of support for the campaign, an 80-year-old man is planning to walk over 100 miles across the 13^th district holding a Robinson sign. He’ll begin his journey on Monday. Godspeed, pops.

Robinson and Miller debated twice more on Friday, their final debates before the election. The first was hosted by WRAL-TV in Raleigh and the second was held at ABC 11 WTVD in Durham. And you can catch the first, sex-dominated debate from Tuesday here.

NY-20: Bah! Polls Shmolls

Yes, polls can sometimes be misleading. And giddy political junkies can sometimes jump to conclusions based on such polls. But this is ridiculous. A Constituent Dynamics poll (pdf) has challenger Kirsten Gillibrand (D) up by 13 points on Representative John Sweeney (R), 54%-41%. Then a Siena College poll released a day later has the lead at 14 points – except Gillibrand’s not ahead, Sweeney is.

Is anyone else reminded of that careerbuilder.com chimpanzee ad? Obviously the Constituent Dynamics poll is the correct one, since it came first – that’s just simple science, people.

PA-06: Gerlach and Murphy Debate Over… Guess!

AP reports, “Republican Congressman Jim Gerlach accused Democratic challenger Lois Murphy in a debate Saturday of being inconsistent in her support for U.S. troops in Iraq, while Murphy countered that the war has made the nation less safe.”

TN-SEN: Harold Ford, Jr. Storms the Ring!

Gorilla Monsoon: “Welcome, fans, to this jam-packed Memphis airport and Campaignmania MMVI! We’ve got a capacity crowd of some 10 or 12 reporters on hand today to witness Republican Bob Corker – the Chattanooga Choker – in the political fight of his life.”

Jesse Ventura: “I’m looking for a big performance from Choker here, Gorilla. He’s locked in a super tight contest with Ravishing Harold Ford, Jr. I expect Choker to come out swinging hard on ethics issues. He’s gotta use his speed and his brains to outsmart the Ravishing One if he wants to win this thing.”

Gorilla Monsoon: “This capacity crowd looking to get things started here, the adrenaline coursing- What the, what is that? That’s Harold Ford, Jr.’s music!!! And here comes his tour bus out of nowhere! I don’t believe it! It’s mayhem in Memphis!!!”

Jesse Ventura: “Look at this! Look what’s happening! I’ve never seen a guy storm a press conference like this! He don’t have no right to do that. Harold Ford’s got a million dollar body and a ten cent brain! This guy’s a maniac, Gorilla!!!”

Gorilla Monsoon: “I don’t know about that, Jess. But no question, an unbelievable turn of events. You can feel the electricity – reporters literally hanging from the rafters – history in the making here at Campaignmania MMVI! This confrontation a long way from being over. Hold onto your seats, folks!”

IYI (If You’re Interested)

MT-SEN: Up close with Conrad Burns: Incumbent banks on record of delivery (Great Falls Tribune)

VA-SEN: Webb struggles against stiff style (Wash Times, who, BTW, endorsed George Allen)

NATIONWIDE: Great, NY Times. Thanks for jinxing the whole election: Guardedly, Democrats Are Daring to Believe

NATIONWIDE: WaPo, OBVIOUSLY taking its cue from the Midterm Roundup, catches on to the whole “BIG 3” notion: “Democrats in the past two weeks have significantly improved their chances of taking control of the Senate, according to polls and independent analysts, with the battle now focused intensely on three states in the Midwest and upper South: Missouri, Tennessee and Virginia.” LA Times jumps on the bandwagon as well with Three states could swing Senate control.

NATIONWIDE: Why the Center Matters in This Election (Wall Street Journal, pointing out what has happened among independent voters in the latest Wall Street Journal/NBC Poll, taken this past week: Support for Republicans has collapsed. Just 24% of them say they want President Bush's party to control Congress after Election Day. Independents disapprove of Mr. Bush's job performance by 2 to 1.)

NATIONWIDE: In the interest of preserving sanity and not turning into an irredeemable moron, the Midterm Roundup makes a concerted effort to never listen to nor read anything Rush Limbaugh ever says. And it feels it does its readers a small service, if no other services, by never linking to anything Rush ever says. But damnit he’s so good sometimes it just can’t resist: “On the October 19 edition of his nationally syndicated radio show, Rush Limbaugh declared that the recent surge in insurgent violence in Iraq indicates that ‘terrorists around the world, particularly those in Iraq, are voting Democrat today.’ Limbaugh maintained that ‘the terrorists, the Islamofascists, the jihadists’ are the ‘key voters in this year's election,’ and that ‘[t]hey are trying to create as much havoc as possible; raise the level of violence in order to affect the midterm elections.’ He added: ‘What could be the best outcome for them [the terrorists]? Cut and run, right? Whose strategy -- whose policy amounts to cut and run? Democrats.’

Oh that Limbaugh, what a gas, huh? At least it’s reassuring to know that his voice is a relatively marginal one. Oh, wait… the president of our country is pretty much saying the same thing.

NATIONWIDE MONEY: With all the talk lately of the Democrats’ need for money and the obligation of people like John Kerry to cough it up, Hotline flips it around and takes a look at the same phenomenon on the GOP side:

“Worry: Sen. Maj. Leader Bill Frist asks GOP activists for ‘urgent:’ donations, writing that ‘[w]nfortunately, we are still short of the financial resources needed to have the maximum impact in every one of the battleground states such as Pennsylvania, Ohio, Tennessee, Montana, Missouri, and even Virginia.’ On the list of Republican senators with no '06 race and bulging campaign accounts: Sen. Norm Coleman, who has asked the NRSC to send more $$ to MN to help Mark Kennedy. He's given the NRSC only $15K and has more than 1.8 million in the bank. Sen. Kay Bailey Hutchison has written a $115K check; she has a cool $9.5 million in her account. Sen. Richard Lugar, who is literally running television ads in IN featuring himself, has given $150K and had as of 9/30 about $2.9 million on hand. Sen. Richard Shelby has $11.6 million and was generous enough to fork over $15K.”

In the same post Hotline notes, “Arguably unfair to Sen. John Kerry, but the share the wealth story is now in the Globe.” They fail to actually make the argument though of why this might be unfair to Kerry. The Roundup acknowledges, as Josh has multiple times (and as TPM readers have discussed), that Kerry has been an absolute animal on the campaign trail, but it still can’t see any good excuse for not giving your absolute maximum – campaign-wise and financially – considering the circumstances/stakes/etc.

Here, take a cue from Ned Lamont: the Hartford Courant reports, “Ned Lamont donated another $2 million to his Senate campaign Saturday… The latest donation by Lamont, a wealthy businessman, brings his personal investment in the campaign to $12.7 million.” Actually, on second thought, that’s ridiculous. Nobody should ever spend that much on anything. Ever.

And for the latest overall money figures check out, um… every single other political news site on the Internet these days. (Though of course the Roundup recommends TPM and Election Central.)

And as one last item…

Okay, the Roundup acknowledges that today’s Roundup didn’t have much substance. Maybe it’s just the lack of news that comes out during the weekend. Or maybe it’s the seemingly unfathomable notion that after the eruption of the Foleygate tornado (yes, tornados can erupt), there’s actually just not that much concrete news for the media to talk about nowadays. DK adds his two cents to Josh’s original comment on this phenomenon, noting the stagnation of the Foley scandal and the gradual loss of any and all meaning of that insipid phrase “October Surprise.” (That’s right, the Midterm Roundup just wrote an item, without adding anything new, about DK’s comment about Josh’s comment about how the news cycle is feeding on itself. The Roundup really believes it should get some kind of prize for this.)

Update: Actually, the real last item…

You know what, completely disregard the previous item. If you don’t read anything else this morning, read this. It’s a message from Kevin Tillman, the surviving brother of Pat Tillman, the former football player who served in Iraq and Afghanistan and was killed in Afghanistan in 2004. Read it. Seriously. Read it. The Nation’s John Nichols calls it The Most Vital Political Statement of 2006 and provides some very relevant context. So read that too.