As a result of his brand of "leadership," McConnell has been enjoying a steady stream of bad local press in Kentucky throughout the week:

Louisville Courier-Journal, July 20:

If Senate Minority Leader Mitch McConnell is upset about being portrayed as a blinkered partisan, maybe he should try something new.

It's called leadership.

Lexington Herald-Leader, July 17:

Sen. Mitch McConnell is insulting Kentuckians' intelligence by repeating President Bush's rationale for sticking to the same disastrous path in Iraq. ...

As the Republican leader in the Senate, McConnell is in a position to challenge failed policies and help steer us onto a saner path. It's disappointing that he's not.

NKY.com/The Enquirer, July 16:

Mitch McConnell is a marked man.

The Associated Press, July 17:

Senate GOP leader Mitch McConnell was conspicuous by his absence when key Republicans met with White House officials last week on how to limit party defections on Iraq. ...

Privately, however, some Republicans and their top aides express alarm that McConnell has recently hung back on more divisive issues, allowing party rifts to be highlighted and weakening Bush's position where he can least afford it.

McConnell even made his first appearance on WaPo's Cillizza's Senate Line, a monthly listing of the top ten Senate seats most likely to change Party hands (which currently features eight Republican-held seats to only two Democratic seats).  Suffice it to say, McConnell's had better weeks, and Kentuckyians are beginning to take note of McConnell's lack of leadership.

In case you're looking for some reading on the negative impact George W. Bush and his Iraq debacle will have on Republican Senators up for re-election in 2008, the two must-read articles of the week are The Politico's "Is Bush's support worse than no support?" and the Los Angeles Times' "GOP candidates fear Iraq war fallout."

And other Senate news from around the country:

Louisiana: Prostitute aficionado and arbiter of morality Republican David Vitter held his much awaited press conference on Monday regarding his scandal.  He and his wife read statements that addressed little about the actual facts of the situation, played the victim card as they pled for privacy, and answered no questions from the media.  Of course, Vitter did not address the fact that he called for President Clinton to resign following the disclosure of his marital infidelities or that Vitter didn't just "sin" but also committed an actual crime by soliciting prostitutes.  But, similar to Republicans filibustering to their hearts content after demanding up-or-down votes while in the majority Party, far be it from the hypocritical Republicans in the Senate to conduct themselves to their own standards.  Since the press conference, a formal ethics complaint was filed against Vitter, high-profile conservatives have called for Vitter's resignation, and the DC Madam has called for Vitter to be a witness at her trial.  So Vitter has plenty of squirming left to do.  It has been suggested that Vitter is just trying to hold out until after this year's Louisiana gubernatorial election, assuming that front-runner Republican Bobby Jindal will win and be able to name his successor rather than current Democratic Governor Kathleen Blanco.  Should that happen, I would hope that the appointed replacement would be burdened by the weight of blatant partisanship, wounding the replacement in a subsequent special election.

New Hampshire: John Sununu has endured another long week, highlighted by a University of New Hampshire poll in which not only did popular former Governor Jeanne Shaheen beat Sununu 54-38, but Portsmouth Mayor Steve Marchand and activist Katrina Swett both held Sununu under 45 and polled within the margin of error against him, meaning a statistical dead heat.  Sununu's uncertainty (or, perhaps, certainty) about his political future has been illustrated in his latest flip-flop, the four-day period in which he went from accepting Bush's help campaigning to turning down such an invitation.

Oregon: Gordon Smith may have received some disheartening poll news, as reports have Democratic polling showing that Oregon's Democratic state House Speaker Jeff Merkley is holding Smith to "well below 50 percent in a head-to-head matchup" and that Merkley is "within six points of Smith."  All we need now is for Merkley to actually announce his candidacy.  The DSCC also released these numbers on Smith's approval:

Excellent job 6%
Good job 31%
Only fair job 38%
Poor job 16%
Don't Know 9%

Re-elect Smith 34%
Consider someone else 24%
Vote to replace Smith 21%

In the meantime, if you want to help the anti-Smith cause by distributing a few flyers around Oregon highlighting the real Gordon Smith record, download 'em here:

*Gordon Smith votes with President Bush 90 percent of the time
*Gordon Smith has a 15 percent rating from NARAL Pro-Choice America
*Gordon Smith has a 14 percent rating from the League of Conservation Voters
*Gordon Smith has voted more than 20 times to fund and authorize the Iraq War

Maine: Susan Collins slogged through some more bad press of her own.  She tried to take charge by putting out an op-ed in the Boston Globe with her best buddy Joe Lieberman discussing terrorism, in which "9/11" or "Sept. 11" appears seven times but "Iraq" laughably (or predictably) appears zero times.  Since then, her opponent, Democratic Congressman Tom Allen, slammed Collins for her ongoing support for the status quo, offering this handy chart outlining the clear differences on Iraq between Allen and Collins.  Collins was then reminded of her past support for Bush and the "politics of Iraq."  Regardless, when asked if she'd welcome Bush to campaign in Maine for her 2008 re-election bid, all she could sputter was "I don't anticipate ... well, who knows?"  The Portland Press Herald then wrapped up Collins' week demanding clarity on her Iraq position(s):

In short, Collins' Iraq position is long on indignation about the Bush administration's bumbling of the war, but short on leverage that actually might force a change in course.

New Mexico: This week, the first rumors started trickling out that Pete Domenici could see a primary challenger.  Meanwhile, despite Bush's hideous 30-68 approve-disapprove in New Mexico, Domenici is welcoming Bush to New Mexico to come fundraise for him.  With those approvals, I hope Bush makes several high-profile trips to New Mexico for Domenici!  This all follows Domenici's calling for a new direction in Iraq, and then promptly taking it all back.

Colorado: In a pleasant piece of diligent journalism, CBS-4 Denver calls out the NRSC for an ad they released chock-full of lies and half-truths about Democratic Congressman Mark Udall's record on taxes.  You almost have to feel bad for the NRSC, dusting off an archaic campaign playbook in such a ham-handed fashion.  Well, on second thought, no, you don't have to feel bad for them.

Idaho: Sorry to be so blunt, but if you don't think Bush rubber-stamp and "Nintendo warrior" Larry Craig is an idiot, see here and here and here, and then reconsider.

Texas: State Representative, Lieutenant Colonel, and netroots favorite Rick Noriega announced that he would be moving forward with a Senate exploratory committee to challenge Republican John Cornyn and his atrocious approval ratings.  Rep. Noriega has his campaign website up and running.

The Carolinas: Both Elizabeth Dole of North Carolina and Lindsey Graham of South Carolina saw precipitous dips in their campaign fundraising from Q1 to Q2, raising from April to June less than half of what they raised in January through March.  Will this reduction in momentum help encourage challengers to step forward?

Finally, the DSCC is revamping their website and encouraging input.  Take a gander and offer your thoughts.

For daily news and updates on the U.S. Senate races around the country in 2008, check out Senate 2008 Guru: Following the Races.