I’m still high on Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius as a running mate. By now you should be familiar with the obvious strengths she brings to the table, but I will list them anyway. She’s won statewide election twice in a very conservative state, and she was reelected with 58% of the vote and retains high approval ratings. She’s Catholic, and should help with that key swing demographic. She’s obviously a woman, and she can peel off significant numbers of independent and conservative women from McCain’s camp, while solidifying former Clinton supporters within the Democratic camp. And there is an even better qualification from a progressive point of view. I’ll let the Republicans make my case for me:
Kansas Republicans, however, say that’s [lack of national security experience] just the tip of the iceberg when looking at Sebelius’s shortcomings.
Kris Kobach, chairman of the Kansas Republican Party, said Sebelius has failed to take any centrist or conservative positions on key issues.
“She simply can’t point to a single place where she took a position that was even moderate in nature,” Kobach said.
As examples of her radical leftiness, the Republicans site two things:
Kobach, who said the state party has been supplying background information on Sebelius to the Republican National Committee, said Sebelius’s vetoes of bills that would expand clean coal plants in Western Kansas are at odds with the state’s voters.
“That’s a pretty radical view for any state, but particularly in Kansas,” Kobach said.
So, despite standing up to the energy bigwigs and rejecting coal-fired plants in her state, she still remains popular.
Kobach also said the governor angered many independent voters and Republicans in the state by vetoing legislation that would tighten abortion laws.
“Again she was playing to the hard left of the Democratic Party, probably to gain national attention and get herself on [Obama’s] list,” he said.
And while the latter issue doesn’t play well in Kansas, it almost certainly would appeal to Democratic female voters who supported Clinton and might still be angry.
Here’s another amazing thing. Despite more than once vetoing abortion restrictions that were passed with overwhelming support by the state legislature, she remains very popular. How could this be?
Gov. Sebelius fits very nicely into Barack Obama’s brand. Here’s how Sebelius describes that brand:
She added that the reason she endorsed Obama so early, even as he ran against a candidate who could have been the first female nominee, is “his ability and willingness to reach across party lines.”
“He believes as I do that good ideas don’t come with party labels,” Sebelius said.
Right. Both Obama and Sebelius try to frame their policies as post-partisan, but when you look at their voting records they are reliable Democrats on choice, on the environment, on gay rights, and on other core issues. They are not doctrinaire, but neither are they iconoclastic. They’ll look at unorthodox positions around the edges and reach out to the other side, but this just affords the other side respect and generally makes them feel more comfortable about losing policy battles.
There is also something potentially synergistic about breaking both the race and gender barriers in the same campaign. Together they would bring a similar type of excitement everywhere they went. You won’t get that with an Obama-Nunn or Obama-Biden ticket. Emphasizing the history-making aspects of an Obama campaign is a good way to avoid the inevitable feeling, as the campaign wears on, that Obama is just another calculating politician.
But, most importantly for a vice-presidential pick, Kathleen Sebelius is qualified. She isn’t a token pick, she isn’t going to be asked to deliver Kansas, or win over some interest group’s loyalty. She has executive experience that Obama lacks, and that adds to her appeal and potential usefulness in his administration.
I’m sold on her. I think she’d be a great pick.
