Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, born and raised in Cincinnati, appears to be the frontrunner for Secretary of Health and Human Services. She supported Barack Obama's presidential run early on and campaigned for him, including in Cincinnati.
This position was originally to be filled by former Sen. Tom Daschle, who dropped out when it was revealed he hadn't paid all of his taxes. Stupid taxes! There's no word yet on how good Sebelius' CPA is.—-
Howard Dean would seem to be a great choice for this position, seeing that he's a former physician and headed the Democratic Party during its sweep of the presidency and both houses of Congress. Clearly he's not a favorite in the Obama camp for some reason.
Some pundits think Sebelius would help Obama more by staying in Kansas to run for the Senate seat that will be open in 2010. A popular Democrat who's been elected governor twice in a very conservative state, she could become the first Democratic Senator from Kansas since 1936 and inch the Democrats closer to the 60-seat threshhold that makes Obama's priorities filibuster-free from the Republicans.
Sebelius is the daughter of former Ohio Gov. John Gilligan, who lives in Clifton. She graduated from Summit Country Day.
