One Hand on Her Job, the Other Across the Aisle
By KATE ZERNIKE -- Published: August 19, 2008
Of all those said to be on the short list for the Democratic vice-presidential nomination, Gov. Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas best embodies the kind of bipartisanship that Barack Obama hailed in the convention speech that made him a household name four years ago: no red states or blue states, just the United States. The daughter of a former Democratic governor and congressman, she married the son of a six-term Republican congressman. Running for re-election in 2006, she upended expectations by announcing that her running mate would be a former Kansas Republican chairman. In a state where registered Republicans outnumber Democrats by about 330,000, she then won with 58 percent of the vote, becoming the first Kansas Democrat in 24 years to gain re-election to the governorship. She and moderate Republicans in the overwhelmingly Republican Legislature have worked together under pressure from the courts to resolve a school financing crisis. She has also earned points as fiscally responsible: Facing a budget shortfall at the onset of her first term, she imposed broad efficiency measures that, by her office’s measure, saved $1 billion. Among other steps, she called for what was apparently the first accounting of the number of cars in the state fleet, then sold hundreds of them. Having Ms. Sebelius alongside him would allow Mr. Obama to highlight a Middle American heritage. His mother and maternal grandmother were born in Kansas, and his grandfather grew up there. Ms. Sebelius endorsed him early, in January, and Mr. Obama has great affection for her. “I love Kathleen Sebelius,” he gushed to reporters this summer.
More here:
http://www.nytimes.com/2008/08/20/us/politics/20sebelius.html?_r=1&oref=slogin=======
Nice article. I still think she is a real possibility for VP and would be a great VP!
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