On the Ropes in Kansas, Roberts Goes Full Anti-Obama

Senator Pat Roberts has won 11 easy races in Kansas since his first House campaign in 1980. He never took less than 60 percent of the vote -- until an August Republican primary that he won with just 48 percent.

Now Roberts is in a fight for his political life against Independent Greg Orman. A CNN-ORC Poll released Wednesday showed the race essentially tied, with Roberts at 49% to Orman's 48% among likely voters. The lead flips among registered voters, with Orman at 49% compared with 46% for Roberts.

A major test came in a debate Wednesday, in which his primary mission was to define Orman as a liberal Democrat masquerading as an independent, who ultimately would side with President Barack Obama and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid. And it became a line Roberts repeated -- no matter the question -- to the three hundred Kansas business executives, state politicians, and other local officials.