McLeay learns from Sidney residents on eve of Republican debate

Before heading to Gering for Wednesday night's debate between Republican candidates for the U.S. Senate seat, Bart McLeay did something unusual.

Yes, he brought a team to help him prepare for the showcase event. But he also walked around downtown Sidney, poking his head into shops, listening to opinions from the Nebraska panhandle.

"I like to believe I'm a good listener," he said. "As a lawyer you have to listen to your client to represent them, to do your job."

The comment just may represent McLeay's careful way of treading between the public perception of a politician who bends from an or...