Leading Off:
•KS-Gov: It's been clear for a while that GOP Gov. Sam Brownback is in trouble in dark red Kansas, but here's the surest sign yet: His allies at the Republican Governors Association have finally gotten worried enough to start propping him up. The RGA's new TV ad, their first of the race, ties Democratic nominee Paul Davis to Barack Obama as closely as possible, mentioning Obama's name an impressive six times in only thirty seconds. The narrator also sneering refers to the "Democrat National Convention," so you know this is aimed at angrying up the base.
And fresh off his desultory 63-37 primary win over a no-name foe Tuesday night, Brownback himself got some more bad news Wednesday. The S&P cut the state's credit rating, on account of the fact that that Kansas is continuing to bring in less revenue than expected. Brownback's tax cuts are the direct cause of this revenue shortfall, though of course Brownback is on the same page as the RGA and just blames Obama for everything. He even blamed the president for his weak primary showing, though he missed a golden opportunity to just sarcastically declare, "Thanks Obama!" (Jeff Singer)