Here are today’s headlines from the Kansas congressional delegation:Sen. Pat Roberts (R)!(McClatchy) Pat Roberts may be leaving Senate Intelligence Committee: Republican Sen. Pat Roberts of Kansas is preparing to leave the Senate Intelligence Committee after an intense four years as chairman, according to Senate officials. Roberts has been a lightning rod for partisan criticism throughout his tenure, which began just weeks before the United States invaded Iraq in March 2003. The Intelligence Committee, once noted for bipartisan collegiality, was increasingly swept into the maelstrom of vitriol surrounding the intelligence that led to the Iraq war, the Bush administration’s domestic surveillance program and the treatment of suspected terrorists in custody. Neither Roberts nor his spokeswoman would comment for this story.Sen. Sam Brownback (R) !(National Review commentary) Window on the Week: But now Brownback appears to have succumbed to the temptation that all senators seem to face: He’s on the verge of running for president. “We’re very close with announcements,” he said on November 26, appearing on ABC’s This Week. “I think there is room, on the Republican side, for somebody that’s a full-scale conservative.” Several other GOP candidates may quarrel with that assessment, and they’ll be quick to point out that Brownback supported both the McCain-Feingold campaign-finance law (initially, at least) and the McCain-Kennedy immigration bill. A lot of “full-scale” conservatives opposed both, and vigorously. If Brownback does choose to run, he will no doubt acquit himself honorably. He may also do so irrelevantly. Or worse: He could fracture the conservative base and contribute to the success of a “half-scale” Republican. If Brownback wants to advance conservatism, perhaps he should consider pursuing the governorship of his own state in 2010 and seeing where that leads.(Salt Lake Tribune) Is Romney’s religion a non-factor? The Mormon issue for Massachusetts Gov. Mitt Romney’s expected presidential run has been overblown, a panel of Republican strategists said Thursday. “The Mormon issue is way overstated,” said Mark McKinnon, a former chief media adviser to President Bush’s 2004 campaign and a strategist now aligned with Arizona Sen. John McCain. “In the end, it won’t be much of an issue.” The comment was echoed by David Kensinger, a strategist for GOP Kansas Sen. Sam Brownback, who is expected to announce his White House bid soon. “The country will be ready for this [a Mormon president] at some point,” he said.