sebelius.thumbnail.jpgThe high priests of bipartisanship are going limp at the rumors of Chuck Hagel or Dick Lugar for Obama's VP, but I must confess these bold opponents of choice leave me a bit cold.

Much more interesting is the prospect of Kathleen Sebelius, who actually has an impressive record of "getting shit done":

More often than not, Sebelius has harnessed legislative consensus for her agenda. In a special session in 2005, she was handed a budgetary bombshell when the state's Supreme Court ordered the government to provide $500 million for school funding (Kansas' budget is roughly $12 billion). Discussions went on for days in the legislature, with talk of impeachment of the justices surfacing. Sebelius stood behind the court, and recruited a slim majority of lawmakers to her side. Funds were passed for the schools and three years later the program is regarded as a success.

"She brings people together and gets things done," said Raj Goyle, a first term state representative. "Governor Sebelius has a unique record of reaching across traditional party lines in Kansas to build consensus."

She's also managed to hew to progressive values in a state where that isn't always easy:

She vetoed a bill that would have required voters to show photo identification before voting, citing disenfranchisement concerns. She issued an executive order making it illegal to discriminate against state employees on the basis of sexual orientation. Three times in four years, she opposed legislation that would have restricted abortion access even though one of those bills passed the Kansas legislature by a two to one margin. Most recently, Sebelius offered a third veto to a bill that would have paved the way for the construction of two new coal-fired units in western Kansas, and she did it primarily on environmental grounds, a stance that a decade ago would have amounted to political suicide.

"Elected leaders are supposed to look at the big picture, at issues that may not affect citizens immediately but are extremely beneficial to the long-term condition of our society. Moving toward renewable energy provides opportunities for better-paying jobs, while helping to address concerns caused by global warming," she said of her decision.

Her position was held up by one vote in the statehouse.

Acceptance of a Lugar or a Hagel on the ticket is also acceptance of the right's "national security" frame. And when that happens, McCain wins. If the debate truly is to shift to "how do we fix the stuff that's wrong with this country," something that people in polls say again and again concerns them in this election, nominating someone like Sebelius makes a whole lot of sense.

Besides, George Bush hates her. That's the kind of bona fides John McCain would kill for right about now.