boyda to sit on armed services committee, roberts’s future
Super. Who do I kiss first?
Also, Pat Roberts is leaving both the Senate Armed Services Committee and the Senate Intelligence Committee, of which he was the chairman. It’s been reported that Sen. Kit Bond of Missouri will take Roberts’s place on the Armed Services Committee.
The seat which Sen. Roberts holds is up for election in 2008. He is getting on in years — he is 70 — and although that never stopped some people from being in the Senate, I think the grind has been hard on him. There’s a strong chance, I think, that he will not run for re-election in 2008.
That will present our illustrious Governor — for whose father-in-law Roberts once worked — with something of a dilemma. Should she try to crank up the campaign machinery one more time? Or, should she wait for 2010, when Sam Brownback has said that he will give up the Senate seat he holds.
Consider a potential 2008 Senate race. Who among Kansas Republican heavies could oppose Kathleen Sebelius, a fairly popular governor? Few have name recognition. The ones that do are Jim Barnett, who was… underwhelming in his opposition to Sebelius — and (WAIT FOR IT) Phill Kline, fresh from being creamed by the man he switched jobs with, a Republican-turned-”Democrat” Paul Morrison.
Among other conservatives/moderates/people of conscience, I can’t think of anyone else who I wish would run that might stand a chance of winning. No names in the state House or Senate reach up and grab me.
ALSO: In a rare bit of humor and insight on WE Blog, the Wichita Eagle’s Rhonda Holman calls out Brownback for talking the “big tent” talk and not walking the “big tent” walk.
12.14.2006 @ 11:05
Pat Roberts has pretty definitively declared that he’s running in 2008.
12.14.2006 @ 14:07
Also, though your BSG post is clearly bait meant to draw me in, I will have nothing to do with it.
My wife could kick my butt pretty thorougly, after all.
12.14.2006 @ 14:44
And so he has said he will run. I think it must be less attractive to him by the day. There’ll be some things with him and Alzheimer’s, but I think this is mostly from those who would style themselves Roberts’s political enemies. If he does run and win, he’ll be nearly 80 when his term is out.
As I said, not that that stopped anyone. From where I sit, though, it looks like he may not want to do it anymore.
And the real question about Mrs. M is this: she may be able to kick your butt, but can she read a wireless router log?
12.14.2006 @ 17:52
In fact, my wife set up our household wireless. I might have the fancy-schmancy job title, but — techy geekwise — she’s the one in the house who has skillz.
Besides, given camera angles and whatnot on BSG, there’s not been a ton left to the imagination, w/rgds Tricia Helfer, anyway.