Big news for those of us mildly obsessed with raising the national profile Kansas governor Kathleen Sebelius. She's going to be giving the Democrats' State of the Union response!Washington, D.C. – Speaker Nancy Pelosi and Senate Majority Leader Harry Reid announced today that Governor Kathleen Sebelius of Kansas will deliver the Democratic Address on the State of the Union following the President’s speech to Congress on Monday, January 28.[...]“Governor Sebelius is a forward-thinking, solutions-oriented Democratic leader, who has worked in a bipartisan way to create jobs, grow the economy, make historic investments in education, and make college more affordable” said Speaker Pelosi and Leader Reid. “Her record of accomplishment in Kansas is evidence of what can be achieved when leaders reach across the aisle on behalf of all Americans. Governor Sebelius epitomizes the leadership that is moving America in a New Direction.”Governor Sebelius said: “These are extraordinarily challenging times, both at home and abroad. To meet those challenges, the American people expect their leaders to resolve their differences and put partisanship on the back-burner. They demand leadership focused squarely on solving our problems, making the most of our opportunities, and moving America forward. That is exactly the kind of leadership we’ve demonstrated in Kansas, and I am honored to share that example with the American people in response to the President’s State of the Union message.”It sounds wanky, but, in her case, it's fairly true. Sebelius has demonstrated a fairly unique proficiency at leveraging the GOP's increasing extremism to flip high profile, moderate Republicans. She convinced Mark Parkinson, a former Chairman of the state GOP, to switch party identifications and run as her Lt. Governor. She convinced Paul Morrison, a prominent District Attorney, to switch parties and run as the Democrat for attorney general. And she did the same for six other candidates for the legislature. It's an impressive record, and one that might prove particularly potent if paired with, say, Barack Obama's message.For instance.But first, she'll have her national coming out party when she delivers the Democratic response to Bush's speech. Good for the party leadership, who's recognizing talent and working to elevate it. Now it's up to Sebelius to make me look really prescient for boosting her. That, of course, is the real issue here.(Image used under a Creative Commons license from Flickr user Hometown Invasion.)
