Sebelius as Top Choice for HHS
19 February 2009 11:31 am by PamelaLeavey
Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius who was an early Obama supporter is apparently President Obama’s top pick now for Secretary of health and human services. If Sebelius is nominated she brings “eight years of experience as her state’s insurance commissioner as well as six years as a governor running a state Medicaid program.”
The NY Times reports, with “President Obama about to begin a drive to expand health coverage, an issue on which the two parties have deep ideological divisions, her strongest asset in the view of the White House may be her record of navigating partisan politics as a Democrat in one of the country’s most Republican states.”
If Sebelius does become Secretary of HHS, she would be the 4th woman in Obama’s 15-member cabinet. Healthcare is a top issue for the Democratic party. Losing Daschle for the post was seen as a blow by many. See The Wonk Room for Sebelius’ record on healthcare.
I don’t really see Daschle as a loss. He was way too cozy with insurance companies.The fact that he negleted to tell Obama about his little tax problem,putting the President in an embarrassing position does not say much for his character, no matter how many DC people gushed over him when he left. I wonder how it works in Kansas? Are the insurance commissioners cozy with the companies like our federal regulators have been?
I don’t have a great impression of Sabelius,her follow up speech for the Dems after Bush’s last SOTU was weak and forgettable she seems wishy washy to me…maybe I’m wrong.I would rather see Granholm from MI if he likes the idea of a Gov. she can really communicate well. I always like it when she is a guest on cable.The PA Gov would be great too.
My feeling is that he’s looking at someone who has experience with the insurance business. Just a gut feeling. I like her. I know she’s not a great speaker, but she doesn’t really have to be to be the HHS Secretary.
I have to disagree with you Bets about needing a great speaker or persuader. You know the Repubs are going to demagogue the healthcare issue to a fair thee well. The have already started warning about “rationing” because Obama appointed a commission to study the effacacy of various mediacal practices.
I have heard that 90% of a persond lifetime medical expenses takes place during the last year of life. I don’t know if that is a true stat but I do know going to extraordinary lengths to keep an old person living, especially when they are in pain or misery seems unaffordable when you think of all the children who are not getting a decent start in life.
I don’t think she’s a horrible speaker, and she’s not another Hillary or Obama. With that said, I read the Wonk Room about her record on health care and I think it’s very good.
I personally think she’ll do just fine. If you remember that speech she gave after the President spoke she really didn’t have that much time to write a speech. I could be wrong though.
Lake Lady, I like Jennifer Granholm, too. I think she is pretty dynamic. However, Sibelius is a Democratic governor of a Republican state and she might be good at navigating the waters in D.C. I like that she refused donations from the insurance industry. She also seems to be in sync with Obama. I still think a single payer system is the way to go – it would do more for job creation than anything else – both in the medical field and outside of the medical field. Just compare the auto industries in Canada and the U.S.