In a brief and much-needed break from my personal life angst that has been preoccupying my consciousness (and unconsciousness) for the past few days, I'm returning to the world of Arizona politics for one quick observation.

Jim Pederson has been putting out a bunch of TV commercials, which are OK. I like them better so far than Kyl's. They're decent getting-to-know-you ads about Jim.

What I can't understand is why he's not doing more to tie Kyl to the Bush administration. Kyl is one of the most reliable votes the White House has. And with a Bush job approval rating at just 43% in Arizona, I'd be doing everything I can to wrap that albatross around Kyl's neck in every speech and advertisement that goes out.

Kyl is just awful on women's rights, civil rights, immigration, the economy and defense. He's out of touch and out of step. What will it take for the loyal opposition candidate, who was supposed to be a slam-dunk upset, to actually point that out to voters? This is why I won't donate (time or money) to the state party or this particular campaign. Show me your teeth and I'll reconsider.

If the Pederson campaign's strategy is to "kill 'em with kindness," we're on a one way trip to another six years of Jon Kyl's conservative hypocrisy. How many times do I have to say that challengers need to go on the offense and not think that they can defeat an incumbent by only playing defense? This lukewarm campaign has been mostly a disappointment so far. There's a lot of anti-incumbent energy available for federal elections right now; this campaign is currently representing a missed opportunity of enormous proportions.

We now return you to your regularly scheduled emotional turmoil.