If the balance of power doesn't shift in either house, more political gridlock seems inevitable.

ECONOMIST: Too close to call

Still, Bayern manager Jupp Heynckes didn't buy into the narrative of a power shift in European soccer or indeed that Barcelona's remarkable run of success was suddenly hitting a wall.

WSJ: Bayern Munich, FC Barcelona: Bayern Buries Barcelona, Reaches Champions League Final

In chatting up the bunt putting all this attention on himself, Teixeira is also re-opening the fundamental debate about the shift: Why don't power hitters bunt against it more often?

WSJ: Mark Teixeira Considers Using the Bunt

And can we shift the balance of power, so that people don't feel that their community is out of control, that they have no sense of power over the things that matter to them, and I think that's what the government is determined to address, but not by imposing a solution, but by trying to make something, develop something that actually works locally.

BBC: Politics Show, Sunday 23 October 2005