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Posted: August 24, 2007 4:55 PM
Brownback a Rarity in the Race ... He Takes Vacation
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With the Iowa straw poll in the rearview mirror and the end of summer fast approaching, Sen. Sam Brownback, R-Kan., exchanged campaigning for a little R&R in the Colorado Rockies with his wife Mary.

And the New York Times had a little fun with it.

“And the winner is … Sam Brownback,” Allen Salkin’s piece begins. “The senator from Kansas, a candidate for the Republican presidential nomination, is running near the bottom in polls. But by one standard Mr. Brownback has trounced his rivals: He is taking a five-day August vacation.”

After his trip, Brownback appeared on the Mike Gallagher show to talk about earmarks and met with the editorial board of the Topeka Capital-Journal to discuss Iraq.

“Praise the troops and the president for hanging in there,” Brownback told the paper. “Excellent military progress. Zero to no political progress.”

In the past, the senator has been critical of President Bush’s strategy, saying the only solution to the war would be through political efforts and by setting up a three-state system. He repeated those opinions to the paper’s board.

Brownback also said he would not run for re-election to the Senate in 2010 if he did not win the presidency.

Next on Brownback’s schedule is the LIVESTRONG Presidential Cancer Forum on Tuesday in Cedar Rapids, Iowa. Four other candidates plan to attend: Sen. Hillary Clinton, D-N.Y., former Sen. John Edwards, D-N.C., New Mexico Democratic Gov. Bill Richardson, and former Arkansas Republican Gov. Mike Huckabee.