Sen. BrownbackBoth men are good family men, with lengthy marriages. Holland has been married for nearly 29 years to his wife, Barbara, with four children. Likewise, Senator Brownback has a successful marriage with five children.

Both men are Christians and are committed to their churches. Brownback's spiritual journey has taken him from mainstream Protestantism, to evangelicalism, and finally to Catholicism. Meanwhile, Holland and family are longtime members of Plymouth Congregational Church in Lawrence (United Church of Christ), a classic mainline Protestant denomination.

Holland's family and church bona fides certainly demonstrate that, as Jim Wallis would say, "God is not a Republican or a Democrat." Or as Lincoln said, "the important thing is not that God is on our side, but that we are on His side." It will be interesting and helpful if Holland contrasts how his more mainline faith compares to Brownback's more fundamentalist view of things.

And Holland's public and private life show a commitment to public education that Senator Brownback lacks. Considering that most of the state budget is for K-12 education, with higher education duties over and above that, it seems that commitment to public education will be a winner for Holland.

Brownback's mantra about reducing the size and scope of government sounds great at the federal level, where everyone has heard horror stories about federal waste and abuse (e.g., $250,000 spent to study why monkeys grit their teeth).

But state government? Well, that's the grade school down the street. That's KU, K-State, WSU, Pittsburg State, Fort Hays, your local community college. Anybody excited about dismantling those?

State government is the prison that locks away criminals, the highway patrolman, the KBI. Anybody want to open the prison doors, or lay off cops?

State government is the road you drive on every day. Who is for potholes? Well, nobody.

So Brownback's constant harping about how government is horrible simply won't sit well in a race for governor. Because here were talking about things that make us safe every day, things that we see contributing to the common good each day.

Reclaiming and embracing the education issue is the key for Kansas Democrats to have a chance to flourish, and Holland seems like the right guy to do this.

I think the main difference between the two men is that Brownback is 24 years removed from his days in the private sector, when you had to rely on your performance to get by instead of what your title is.

Once you become a Congressman or Senator, you can forget about seeing life as it really is, because the Red Sea seems to part every time you walk into a room.

Holland's "Joe Sixpack" appeal is very real, and he is used to people telling him the truth, not telling him what he wants to hear. It's easy to get isolated if you're too powerful.