There's two good reasons why Obama will pick Kathleen Sebelius for VP, and neither one of them is because of her gender.
- She has a long history of effective bipartisanship in order to get things accomplished.
From FISA to offshore drilling, Obama has shown he is willing to be an honest broker in order to get things moving both in Congress and internationally. I think Obama's primary method of achieving Change in Washington is to break down the partisan obstacles that have led to crippled and stalemated legislation by encouraging and faciliting cooperation and compromise. Sebelius would not only be a good team member in this regard, but she could play major roles in areas of her expertise such as education.
- She's from Kansas.
Before you laugh, consider that this goes way beyond the 2008 Election. The 50-state Strategy is meant to reclaim the hearts and minds of those who have been largely abandoned by the Democratic party. It's not an election strategy as much as it is an ideological strategy. The small rural towns, the heartland, the hard-working middle-class church-goers who have been hoodwinked into voting against their own economic self-interest. Those who are largely independent-minded but have nonetheless been ceded to the Republicans because someone, somewhere, declared that Kansans and other lower Midwesterners were both too idelogically rigid and politically insignificant to put effort any into.
Sebelius won elections in this "blue" state (where Republicans outnumber Democrats 2 to 1) numerous times -- first to the state legislature, then as State Insurance Commissioner, and finally two terms as Governor. She won the admiration of consituents, Democrats and Republicans and had one of the highest approval rating of any governor.
The choice of Sebelius as a VP would largely by symbolic at this point, but even symbolic gestures can go a long way when applied to the bigger picture.