We've gone through various scandals and flaps during October, but the midterm dynamic really hasn't changed much as we head into the final weak.

As described here a month ago: it's the littany of failures from six years of Republican governance, versus the stereotype of Democrats as weak on national security.

The inability for Republicans to properly handle the Mark Foley situation was a mere capper on their mountain of failures.

The John Kerry flub was simply an opportunity for the GOP to play up the Dem stereotype and mask their own foreign policy debacles.

The problem that the Republicans have is they are being crushed by their mountain, and grasping at straws.

They are left attacking a guy who isn't on the ballot anywhere, and isn't even poised to head up a committee.

The GOP Outrage Manufacture Machine is quite powerful, but even it can't milk this story for more than 48 hours.

And yet, individual Dem candidates, trying to save themselves from getting caught up in the flap, accepted GOP criticisms, and ended up helping to perpetuate the party's negative stereotype.

And that may hurt their individual campaigns by stoking a concern about change in party control of Congress.

Last month, LiberalOasis offered no predictions which force in the midterm dynamic was going to win out, and no predictions are forthcoming.

But understand what the dynamic is, and what forces are tugging at each other.

And for this final week, that means reminding the public how long the list of GOP failures has become -- Iraq, Osama, North Korea, Katrina, Tom DeLay, Jack Abramoff, Mark Foley, Social Security, immigration (just to name a few.)

And to help overcome the other half of the dynamic that potentially works against us, put particular emphasis on the GOP's foreign policy failues -- Iraq, Osama, North Korea.