explores.

It’s still not too late, Senator Brownback, to take our advice. This comes from Friday’s Window on The Week:

Sam Brownback, the Republican from Kansas, is a fine senator: His lifetime voting record, as rated by the American Conservative Union, is 95 percent. On right-to-life issues and the humanitarian aspects of foreign policy — AIDS relief in Africa, assistance to North Korean refugees, etc. — he has established himself as a legislative leader. He played a constructive role in turning back the Supreme Court nomination of Harriet Miers. But now Brownback appears to have succumbed to the temptation that all senators seem to face: He’s on the verge of running for president. “We’re very close with announcements,” he said on November 26, appearing on ABC’s This Week. “I think there is room, on the Republican side, for somebody that’s a full-scale conservative.” Several other GOP candidates may quarrel with that assessment, and they’ll be quick to point out that Brownback supported both the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance law (initially, at least) and the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill. A lot of “full-scale” conservatives opposed both, and vigorously. If Brownback does choose to run, he will no doubt acquit himself honorably. He may also do so irrelevantly. Or worse: He could fracture the conservative base and contribute to the success of a “half-scale” Republican. If Brownback wants to advance conservatism, perhaps he should consider pursuing the governorship of his own state in 2010 and seeing where that leads. He’s only 50 years old. Or he could stay right where he is, doing what he’s already doing.