Kansas Senator Sam Brownback has an old friend in his corner here in Iowa who should prove helpful in his quest for the White House. Brownback formed one of those obligatory "exploratory" committees this week, but it's clear he'll be competing for the 2008 GOP presidential nomination. During a conversation earlier this evening, Brownback said he's interviewing people to head up his campaign effort in Iowa, and Chuck Hurley is "working very closely with me." Hurley is a former state Representative who represented the Oelwein area in the legislature.