Now that speculation on whether Gov. Kathleen Sebelius would be nominated for vice president is over, the period of speculation begins over whether she will get a cabinet post if Barack Obama wins the presidency in November.
And Sebelius is deftly deflecting questions about her future plans, as she did during the veepstakes that concluded Saturday with Obama picking Delaware Sen. Joe Biden as his running mate.
She said today she has had no discussions with Obama about a possible role in his administration if he should win. Read More »
CENTENNIAL, Colo. — Kansas delegates to the Democratic National Convention took some time off from politics Wednesday to help sick people half a world away.
For their share of the Democrats’ 50-delegation public service project, they sorted medical equipment and packed shipping cartons for Project Cure, a nonprofit group that collects surplus health supplies and sends them to developing countries where such items are badly needed.
Although the primary purpose of the two-hour event was to showcase the party’s commitment to public service, Michael Young, the operations manager for the Denver chapter of Project Cure, said the delegates’ efforts were more than a publicity stunt. Read More »
What do party conventions mean these days when the nominee is all but locked in weeks or months before the Big Party?
Not a whole lot, but they do have some importance, says Ken Ciboski, a political science professor at Wichita State University. 
“…oftentimes these parties will, at the conventions then, tout individuals who are going to be future candidates, maybe for president or maybe somebody who is running for the Senate, and they are going to be big politicos for the party in the future,” he said in a podcast on WSU’s web site. Read More »
“I wanted it to be Obama/Sebelius, but they figured at least one name 
had to pass spell check.”
– North Carolina Gov. Mike Easly, joking with Kansas delegates about Obama selecting Sen. Joe Biden of Delaware as his running mate instead of Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius.
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A pair of longtime Ohio Democratic activists say the Kansas governor definitely would have brought some positive name recognition in their critical swing state, where Obama lost to Hillary Clinton in the primary. Read More »
Well, there won’t be an elephant at one of St. Paul’s more popular bar de politicos. In one of the stranger stories to emerge from the RNC coverage in Minnesota, the St. Paul Pioneer Press is reporting the city won’t quite go along with Shamrock’s Bar & Grill’s idea of a live elephant hanging outside the bar. The bar owner tells the Pioneer Press “it’s going to be a circus around here anyway.”
We can only assume that in lieu, there will be plenty of Carlsberg Beer available. (For those not cultured in the way of the barley, Carlsberg, a Danish-born pilsner, comes in a green bottle with a big old elephant on the label. You can even turn yourself into something of an elephant on their apparently non-partisan web site.)
Viewing through a professional’s eyes, Kansas delegate Bobby Whitten says he really appreciates the way Denver has handled security around the Democratic National Convention.
Whitten knows what to look for more than most.
He’s a 20-year-veteran police officer with the Junction City PD.
“I think it’s a 10 so far,” Whitten said of the security arrangements. “So far it’s really good. I don’t mind being searched. It doesn’t bother me at all.” Read More »
Kansas delegates say Hillary Clinton’s speech Tuesday night set the right tone.
“Senator Clinton is a real fighter. Obviously, she’s going to be on the team. I think it bodes well for us in the November election,” said state Sen. Anthony Hensley, one of two Obama whips in the Kansas delegation.
Obama delegate Len Schamber of Damar in Rooks County said it was “a great unifying speech. I have no doubt where we’re going. No doubt.”
Elizabeth Bustamante, a Clinton delegate from Garden City who had been “iffy” on Obama, said she’s now firmly on his side.
“I am going to do what she (Clinton) said,” Bustamante said. “I’m going to follow her like I did in the beginning. I had to hear it from her.
“Now, I’ll do what I have to do as a Democrat.”
