Missouri mirrors current polarized politics.(Main)

Byline: George Will

KANSAS CITY, Mo. - If you seek this year's emblematic election, look at Missouri. In this bellwether state, which has voted with the winner in 25 of the last 26 presidential elections, the U.S. Senate contest between incumbent Republican Jim Talent and state auditor Claire McCaskill encompasses today's political controversies.

Talent, 49, lost a race for governor in 2000 by 21,445 votes, and won two-thirds of a Senate term in 2002 by 21,254 (defeating Sen. Jean Carnahan, who was appointed to the Senate in 2000 when her husband, Mel, was elected 22 days after dying in a plane crash). So he is running statewide for the third time in six years. In 2002, President Bush made five trips to Missouri on his behalf. …