1. It’s been nearly 24 hours since U.S. Sen. Ted Stevens was convicted on seven felony charges. Why doesn’t Bruce Lunsford’s campaign already have ads out there linking the Alaska Republican to his good buddy, Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell? As I’ve noted before, Lunsford’s ability to self-finance a large part of his campaign got him into a competitive position, which became a virtual dead heat after the collapse of the nation’s financial markets. But he still has to close the deal. Stevens’ conviction gives him an opening to do so. If I were Lunsford, I would have had ads out there pairing Stevens with McConnell no later than this morning. And I would keep them going non-stop for the next seven days. But so far, all the Lunsford camp has done is issue a couple of statements, giving McConnell time to try to distance himself from Stevens. Makes you wonder how much the Lunsford camp wants to win.
2. And it’s not as if they don’t have the McConnell camp on the defensive. The R’s wouldn’t be trying to make a big deal out of a silly little flap over a recording device at last week’s debate in Gilbertsville if they weren’t running scared.
3. I was surprised when a recent Courier-Journal Bluegrass State Poll put Gov. Steve Beshear’s approval rating at 60 percent. I knew he had bounced back from a rating in the high 30s at the end of the General Assembly session, but I didn’t think he had bounced back that much. However, the Herald-Leader/WKYT Kentucky Poll gave Beshear a very similar 57 percent approval rating. So, I guess Beshear has been making a number of right moves since the spring. Still, his folks know the improved numbers of late are “soft” and could drop quickly, particularly if sluggish revenues force the administration to make more painful spending cuts.
Larry Dale Keeling, a columnist for the Lexington Herald-Leader, has spent most of his 35-plus years in journalism reporting on or writing editorials and columns about Kentucky’s politics and political issues. He now brings his experience and expertise on those topics to the KyKurmudgeon blog.
The only thing Lunsford has going for him is his money. A portion of which he gleaned from questionable dealings with state contracts. We’re better off with McConnell anyway, not a freshman millionaire who see’s it as nothing more than another feather in his cap.