{Kentucky}...At Kentucky's traditional kickoff to the fall campaign at Fancy Farm Saturday, Republicans sought to link Governor Steve Beshear with President Barack Obama, while Beshear steered clear of attacks on his GOP rivals. Just back from a trip to Iraq and Afghanistan, Beshear praised the service of the thousands of Kentucky troops serving in war zones, saying his heart and mind are not with partisan politics, but are instead thousands of miles away in Iraq and Afghanistan. Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell, who tried to make Obama a central figure in the governor's race, said, "Beshear and President Obama are singing the same tune; they both claim they've improved the economy." Williams congratulated Beshear on the trip, saying "You did the right thing." But he suggested Beshear talked about his trip in his stump speech because he had no achievements to tout after more than three years in office. Independent candidate Gatewood Galbraith said he was offended by Beshear's speech, accusing the governor of trying "to hide behind the bodies of our men and women of the military." The picnic was an opportunity for Williams and independent candidate Gatewood Galbraith to draw contrasts between themselves and Beshear, who polls show ahead by more than 20 percentage points. The crowd quieted when Senate GOP Leader Mitch McConnell called for a moment of silence in honor of the 30 servicemen killed Saturday when insurgents shot down a U.S. military helicopter in Afghanistan.
