Now an unnamed senior administration official is saying Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is near the top of President Barack Obama’s list of candidates to be secretary of health and human services, after the governor met Thursday with Obama adviser Valerie Jarrett. On today’s Opinion page, former congressman Bill Roy says that if Sebelius is offered the job, she should take it, and help “accomplish the once-in-a-nation’s-lifetime achievement of universal health insurance.” Senate Majority Leader Derek Schmidt, R-Independence, stirred things up with his own endorsement of sorts Friday, saying her exit “might actually be helpful” in fixing the state budget.
Her assertive record as insurance commissioner and long commitment to health care reform would make her a good fit for HHS. And the fact that she already was vetted last summer for the vice presidential spot should reassure Obama and his team. But it was just two months ago that Sebelius told Kansans unequivocally that she was staying. How exactly does she exit gracefully now?
“Over the last two weeks, what should have been a deadly serious debate about how to save an economy in desperate straits turned, instead, into hackneyed political theater, with Republicans spouting all the old cliches about wasteful government spending and the wonders of tax cuts,” 
“The big news here is that there are many Democrats who don’t want to move in a conventional liberal direction and . . . some Republicans willing to work with them to create a functioning center,” columnist David Brooks Follow us
