WASHINGTON _ When Sam Brownback left the Kansas governor's mansion in January, he left behind dismal approval ratings, the ire of his fellow Republicans and a hefty order for more school funding from the Kansas Supreme Court.
Fast forward five months, and a visibly relaxed Brownback was back in his element: making jokey sports analogies, ribbing his former aide Paul Ryan, boasting about his anti-abortion record in Kansas and asking the faithful for their prayers.
He was speaking at the National Catholic Prayer Breakfast in Washington, D.C., his new home.