For Democrats, Kansas governor seen as rising star

By Carey Gillam

TOPEKA, Kansas (Reuters) - Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius, a two-term Democrat in a mostly Republican state, finds it "surreal" to hear her name mentioned as a possible vice presidential candidate on a ticket with Barack Obama.

But others watching the 59-year-old governor and surrogate campaigner for the Illinois senator say her political savvy, moderate Midwestern sensibilities and ability to work across party lines make her a good fit for the Democratic front-runner.

"I think she would complement the ticket very well," said Nathan Daschle, executive director of the Democratic Governors' Association, which made Sebelius its first female chairman last year. "She's been elected twice by a state that is a very strong Republican state and she's done it by appealing to conservatives, to progressives and moderates."

Sebelius says she finds it all a bit much.

"It's flattering and a little ... surreal to have somebody talk about those sorts of ideas," she told Reuters. "I don't really think about it. That is not where my focus is."

Some say Sebelius is a long-shot to share the ticket because Kansas has little political clout on the national stage. Sebelius says Obama's team has made no such overtures.

"What he will have is an array of wonderful choices," she says. "There will be a very deliberate process looking at the best possible partner for the future."

The vice presidency may seem like an odd job for a woman who says she got into politics 21 years ago because she wanted more time with her children than she had as head of the Kansas Trial Lawyers Association.