Jack & Jill Politics

I know this was in the Open Thread yesterday, but deserves its own post. This looks like a winner.  From Yahoo:

AP – In this Tuesday, Jan. 29, 2008 file photo, Democratic presidential hopeful Sen. Barack Obama, D-Ill., with Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius…

WASHINGTON – Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius is President Barack Obama‘s choice for secretary of health and human services, a White House source said Saturday.

The source, who was not authorized to speak on the record, said Obama will formally announce the nomination on Monday.

During the course of the campaign, many of us on the board speculated about whom Candidate Obama would choose as his running mate, and I remember Gov. Sebelius’ name being tossed around, which would have been a good pick.  Peep her credentials:

Sebelius, 60, is seen as a solid choice to head HHS because as a governor responsible for the Medicaid program in Kansas, she faced the pressure of rising health care costs directly, and saw how hard it is to expand coverage, particularly in bad economic times. She is also familiar with the insurance industry, a key interest group in the health care debate. Before becoming governor, she served as insurance commissioner, and her fellow state commissioners selected her to be national president of their association.

While she might lack the connections that former nominee Tom Daschle may have had (IMO, I thought confirming Geithner for Treasury after discovering he wasn’t paying his taxes was far worse than tossing Daschle to the wolves for essentially the same offense), I think she might bring fresh ideas to the table in order to achieve the President’s goal of universal healthcare.

Although, I don’t see why America can’t get similar healthcare as seen in the UK and Canada, and would love an explanation as to why we can’t have that (I know about Big PHARMA, who keeps lobbyists on speed dial, and the Congressional members who get fat paid to block “socialist” legislation like this).

This choice is being greeted pretty favorably:

Sebelius had been seen the leading candidate for HHS for several weeks and word of her appointment was greeted favorably by both those who favor the expansion of health care coverage and health insurers.

“Together with the president’s speech to Congress, and his big health care investment in the budget, the president’s appointment of Gov. Sebelius once again makes clear his intention of achieving meaningful health care reform this year,” said Ron Pollack, executive director of Families USA, a liberal advocacy group that has worked for years to expand health care coverage.

“Gov. Sebelius is the right person to move the president’s health care agenda forward,” said Robert Zirkelbach, a spokesman for America’s Health Insurance Plan, the major trade group representing insurers. “She has a wealth of experience of health care issues and has a legislative history of working with both sides of the aisle.”

I’m all for bipartisanship, but if it’s anything like we’ve seen lately, I say the President should leave the door open for GOPers who have common sense, and kick the opponents to the curb, while laying down the foundation in 2012 that sees GOPers who can’t get past partisanship get pink-slipped by their constituents instead.