Kay Barnes' second term as mayor of Kansas City, Missouri, is playing out like an extended victory lap. Earlier this year, Barnes scored when voters approved a mammoth bond issue. Then, in August, Barnes triumphed again when citizens roaringly registered their endorsement of her long-in-the-works plan to build a new downtown arena. The city now dreams of major-league basketball and hockey teams and the return of Big 12 basketball championships. Barnes' political game plan skillfully turned the opposition -- rental-car companies, mainly -- into a foe as detestable as the Oakland Raiders. Maybe Dick Vermeil should hit her up for ideas to motivate his players.
