Politics | 02/19/2009 8:00 am
Obama Advisers: Kathleen Sebelius Top Pick for HHS Secretary
© AP
Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius may soon be moving to Washington.
Top aides in the Obama administration said yesterday that Sebelius should be considered a "leading candidate" for Secretary of Health and Human Services. Former Sen. Tom Daschle had planned on taking that steep, but unexpectedly stepped down last week after coming under fire for not paying back taxes.
Advisers haven’t said where they are in terms of vetting the governor, a process that has become some what of an issue for the Obama White House, particularly in terms of Daschle.
Most see Sebelius as a great fit for the position. Prior to being governor, Sebelius worked as her state’s insurance commissioner, and, during that time, helped draft a patients’ bill of rights. Her work as governor has only increased her involvement in the state’s health programs.
Perhaps more importantly than experience, however, is Sebelius’s history of bipartisanship. She twice ran for office with a Republican running mate. Her father was the Democratic governor of Ohio and her father-in-law was a Republican congressman in Kansas. And if you can get along with a bipartisan family, you can get along with a bipartisan city like Washington.
Abortion may become a big issue in a potential Sebelius confirmation. Though a Catholic who disapproves of abortion, Sebelius has vetoed anti-abortion legislation, like one requiring clinics to report on late-term abortions, and has been backed by Planned Parenthood. Conservative Senators, of course, may have qualms about this apparent contradiction.
Sebelius will be spending the weekend in the capital for a meeting of the National Governors Association. We wonder if she’ll pop over to 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue and try to hammer out a deal.
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Tom Daschle should not have withdrawn because of the tax issue he had. I will admit I allowed myself to be swayed by public opinion in that regard and began to question why so many who were being considered for posts within the president’s administration had tax issues? I have always believed and still do, that most of the people pointing fingers have something in their own closets that are being kept hidden.
Look at Palin, quick to jump on board and make comments about the Democrats who had tax issues and now it turns out she has some of her own. What is that old expression? "Remember when you point a finger at someone, there are four fingers pointing back at you." So true. Kathleen seems like she would be ideal for the job. Short of her having dead bodies buried in her basement, we need to accept her for whatever flaws she may have. As long as the candidate has the skills, experience and knowledge, all of this superficial stuff needs to be ignored.
Once official, her selection would add to Obama’s growing pro-abortion record as president.
Obama advisors notified the media late Wednesday that the president has settled on Sebelius as his top choice for the position.
As the health secretary, Sebelius could have an impact in crafting a health care plan that could cover abortions with taxpayer funds or require insurance companies to cover abortions in their plans.
Sebelius is most notorious for her close relationship with late-term abortion practitioner George Tiller, who has escaped prosecution and accountability thus far for allegedly repeatedly violating state abortion laws.
He’s done so in part because of the lax standards of Sebelius and her political allies, to whom Tiller has donated hundreds of thousands of dollars. Governor Sebelius vetoed a bill last April that the legislature approved that would have strengthened the state’s limits on late-term abortions.
That followed by a year her veto of a bill requiring explicit medical reasons for a late abortion, which was preceded by vetoing other pro-life legislation in 2006, 2005 and 2003.
Sebelius went as far as to coordinate a secret event with Tiller at the governor’s mansion that was criticized because her staff failed to officially report the event.