Obama, Sebelius Ticket Floated By Wes Clark

Wes Clark stopped out in Texas yesterday to drop by a fundraiser Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius headlined for Michael Skelly, a Democrat running for congress in Texas.

Clark introduced Sebelius and, according to a regular correspondent and reliable source who was there, said:

Read the whole story here.

Comments

[BlueOnBlue]

No military types or foreign policy heavyweights should apply for the job. Obama needs a VP who will make him look better, not worse. Look what happened when Dukakis picked Bentsen because of his heavyweight credentials - Dukakis looked like a wimp.

Nope, we need someone who will make Obama look good and also can back him with the base of the Democratic Party. We need...

http://www.observer.com/files/imagecache/article/files/barackobamadenniskucinich.jpg

[dahlenu]

Sibelius might be OK. Wes Clarke is not, he's too "nice", as was Edwards. You need a more forceful hit man (or hit woman) as veep.

[mergina]

If Obama picks a woman for his v.p. OTHER THAN CLINTON, he can kiss his presidential bid GOODBYE. Those 18 million cracks are just waiting to see what he does. A smart politician might want to choose the SURE WIN for November and add those 18 million votes to his fall campaign as a running mate. I like Sebelius too, but now is not the time, absolutely not the time.

[GeorgeKaplan]

Not going to happen.

[marijam]

On the other hand, if you can somehow get past that, she might just turn Kansas purple. Now that would really be something!

[marijam]

Why does this keep coming up? If he picks Sebellius the conservatives will go running to McCain, because she is pro-choice. It has to do with Dr Tiller's clinic in Wichita, Kansas. The right to life movement is very strong there.

[itsnotmyfault]

Sebelius gave the democratic response to the last Bush state of the union. This State of the Union was given by a President who has record low approval and hasn't said a single thing that a sane person would support, in the last 7 years. Given the slam dunk opportunity, Sebelius was horrendous, miserable, boring, insipid and made me want to throw bricks through the TV. Do Democrats hate themselves so much that they will do anything to blow this election?

My second point is that if Obama is looking for a way to piss off 18 million potential supporters, he couldn't be more effective picking a women that is not Hillary. Whats the concept, all women look alike?

Would Hillary offend the sensibilities of the Obama campaign. Is she the old politics. The notion of the new bipartisan politics is the old concept on which George Bush ran in 2000. The problem of politics in Washington is not partisan politics. It is that one party, the Republicans, serve to advance all benefit to the Republican party to the exclusion of the American people. The Republicans defend the Bush administration's illegal war. They want to extend the tax relief for the rich program. They want to drill for oil in our pristine natural preserves, to the further benefit of big oil. They hate social programs, universal medical care, equal opportunity and equal rights. No abortion.

We need the new politics of liberals asserting their positions without compromise.

[tds1273]

Insulting.
Sorry but no, the "concept" as you say is this...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kathleen_Sebelius#Early_political_career
"She was first elected to the Kansas House of Representatives in 1986. In 1994 she left the House to run for state insurance commissioner and stunned political forecasters by winning " the first time a Democrat had won in more than 100 years. She is credited with bringing the agency out from under the influence of the insurance industry. She refused to take campaign contributions from insurers and blocked the proposed merger of Blue Cross and Blue Shield of Kansas, the state's largest health insurer, with an Indiana-based company. The decision by Sebelius marked the first time the corporation had been rebuffed in its acquisition attempts."

She was able to do what Hillary Clinton was not able to do; that is, she, Kathleen Sebelius, actualy beat the insurance companies and did not take their money.


Hillary on the other hand can only do what McCain can not do- mobilize and fire up the Republican base.

Take your 'out from under the bridge' concern elsewhere.

[oafishcad]

If Sebelius is the best person for the job, she should be VP. I prefer Wesley Clark myself. I don't know much about Sebelius except a boring speech. I don't think Obama needs a sheen of boredom over his campaign. The VP is only important if something happens to the President. Look at Quayle.

[ThermoChemist]

Not to seem too brief with a response; but, for VP I was thinking of either:

J. Edwards, to possibly help with the "Southern vote" - or -
W. Clark, for the military background/experience.

[OpusIsUnderTheBed]

Absolutely, no.

[tds1273]

Thanks for that in depth analysis.

[JimR]

I don't understand Hillary supporters. She is poised to become a very powerful and influential voice in the Senate. Why do you want to take that away from her and shove her into the VP slot?

[loki]

Sebelius is the one who helped turn Kansas into the jesus state. Is this who you really want?

[tds1273]

?
You mean the woman who has been attacked by her own church, the Catholic Church, because she has the audacity to stand up for a womens right to choose?

Sebelius does not sit on a school board. You don't bring up Sam Brownback, I notice; he is the diminishing product of the "jesus state". Sebelius is the reason that Kansas is finally adding some blueness to the mix. Sebelius has been carrying the state leftwards and more towards the center.

[PlanetKansas]

Sebelius is fantastic, but brings nothing to the ticket for the southern or foriegn policy vote.

Her talents are best kept here in Kansas to prepare her for a run against Brownback's Senate seat in 2010. Her national exposure only helps her until then.

Jim Slattery, also a former Democratic Governor of Kansas, is preparing to run against Pat Robert's seat this November, and for the first time in years, it looks like he will win it.

That Kansas is nationally percieved as a backwater is the fault of the likes Brownback, a creationist school board and Fred Phelps, yet we can vote for an outstanding and progressive Governor like Sebelius.

In a few short years, we will once again return to the mainstream, and perhaps this is a sign of where the country is headed as well.

[tds1273]

I disagree that he needs to adress the foreign policy vote with his VP. He could "leak" his foreign policy cabinet/team and cover those concerns.
As far as the southern vote goes, I think Sebelius could appeal to those voters just fine. It will be a new type of map this election anyhow. I think the midwest is very much in play and Sebelius very much help across a wide region here.

Your's, however, is the best reason I have seen to not pick her, that is getting that Senate seat from Brownback. That is the same reason I don't usually bring up Napolitano, though I think she would make an outstanding VP or AG, if anyone can take McCain's Senate seat, she will in 2010.

I should note that Senate numbers are also the reason that Webb, Biden, Dodd, Feingold, and even Clinton should be excluded from VP/Cabinet talk. We need them, especially the "fighters", on the front line in Congress.

[trailblazer]

I'm not a big Hillary fan, but if you're going to choose a woman, go ahead and pick Hillary and make 18,000,000 people happy.

[tds1273]

Obama is going to choose the best person for the job, and someone who he can work and get along with. He will be basing his pick, not on what is between their legs but what is on their record; not for their chromosomes but for their character.

^That is the reason that Sebelius is the front runner for VP. It is insulting, and counter productive to feminism, to suggest that it is 'just because she is a woman'.

[MyNameIsJames]

Obama should choose either Wesley Clark or Jim Webb. All this talk about having two minorities on the ticket, or Obama and a woman (outside of HRC) is foolishness. I believe that Wesley Clark is by far the best candidate for VP.

[JerryTheAngel]

I watched Sebelius give the response to Bush's State of the Union speech. I usually take a Tylenol PM to go to sleep at night. Her response was 5 times as effective in putting me to sleep. zzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzzz

That's a good way to attract Hillary Clinton supporters. The first woman to become Vice President will be Sebelius, and not Clinton? If a woman is going to join Senator Obama on the ticket, it has to be Hillary Clinton. This talk of putting Sebelius on the ticket is more pie in the sky media nonsense.

[closetodemfection]

I totally agree. It will not sit well with H'RC supporters - it would totally backfire. As if H'RC got the nomination and then put Charlie Rangel on her ticket to appease O'bama supporters.

They'd be outraged. They gave their heart and soul to O'bama and Charlie Rangel would be a patronizing slap in the face.

If he picks a woman, it must be C'linton.

[tds1273]

Is it about equality of women based on their resumes, or is it about the ego of one particular woman?

One or none- how does that help women at all?

[GabrielXL]

Folks seriously need to stop the Hillary for VP rhetoric. It's already been stated that it isn't happening. To be more specific, there is a deal breaker issue wherein the Clinton's won't release the list of donors to the Clinton library amongst other things. People should get informed before they float out suggestions that have already been addressed.

Personally, I've quietly been a Sebelius advocate as I've spent time trying to learn more about her. If Obama was to pick a woman, she would be far and away the best choice. I too once subscribed to the notion that perhaps America wasn't ready for a black man and a woman at the same time, but that flies right in the fact of an Obama/Clinton ticket. For those who say "it must be Hillary", I dare say that that would be more of a disastrous choice than Sebelius, considering:

A: How many people don't like Hillary. (Including those who want their votes back (including, Ohio and California, et al).

B. How her influence would galvanize the Republican party.

These are real issues in regards to Hillary and have nothing to do with her gender. She didn't suffer from high negativity rates for no reason and I seriously doubt that "the 18 million" strong all vehemently support her and would do so at the expense of the Democratic party and the nation as a whole. Of course, I could be naive on this.

[tds1273]

Oh, and I should also add that Sebelius speech struck exactly the tone it needed to and reached those that it needed too- those still in the middle and wavering on the right.

What good would have been a full ranting assult? Sure it would have made us already on the left feel a little better and more sure of our positions. It would have been a vicarious release of our frustrations.

But it also would have once again put those that might consider voting Dem in November back on their heels. It would NOT have been inviting to people starved for reason who are finally looking to towards the Democratic Party with hope.

By not "attacking" Bush the man, she left nothing for her opponents(except those who have popped up on our own side) to attack her for personally. She most definetly when after his policies however, and left those as the only things to "fight". That is a fight we will win.

Besides, look at Obama v Clinton; the public is tired of the "fighting", it is counter productive. It is time to move on from that frame of mind and those kinds of politics.