Ohioans would make strong VP contenders KEVING BLAUM IN THE ARENA

IT’S JULY and that means the McCain and Obama camps must ramp up and begin to narrow their vice presidential choices. Trying to anticipate whom each candidate will designate for this important position is hazardous duty and potentially embarrassing. A number of you, vying for “In The Arena’s” coveted Vice Presidential Brass Spittoon, already have e-mailed me your choices. Many of you are still reading available tea leaves.

Republican Gov. Sarah Palin of Alaska and Democrats Al Gore, Joe Biden and John Edwards finished high on my list. However, my top two picks have not changed in three months and, coincidentally, they both hail from Cincinnati, Ohio.

John McCain’s leads in Pennsylvania, Michigan, Iowa and Ohio all have vanished. His double-digit margins in Florida, North Carolina and Virginia are now at 5 points and dropping.

McCain needs to hold his red states. If he can’t win Virginia, North Carolina and Florida, without Gov. Charlie Crist, R-Fla., on the ticket, then the race was lost before it began. He also needs to write off Pennsylvania, Iowa and Michigan. Even the son of former Michigan Gov. George Romney will not be able to deliver the Great Lakes State.

Ohio. McCain must not lose Ohio. There is no more crucial state if this Republican is to muster 270 electoral votes to win the White House.

Therefore, Rob Portman of Ohio is McCain’s best choice for VP. Portman was born in Cincinnati and served six terms in Congress (1993-2005) before becoming U.S. Trade Representative and then Director of the Office of Management and Budget. Ambassador Portman is a savvy and very articulate 52-year-old father of three and has significant experience in economic matters. He is held in high regard and is a favorite of the conservative right. Portman is expected to run for governor of Ohio in 2010. But putting him on the ticket now, and signaling a new future for the Republican Party, will benefit John McCain in November.

Obama on the other hand continues to stretch his map of winnable states. While there does not appear to be any single VP prospect who secures for him a much-needed state, there is someone who can be of assistance across many states.

Kathleen Sebelius (seh-BEEL-yuhs) gets the call. Sebelius is the bright and talented 60-year-old, two-term Democratic governor of the very red state of Kansas. She has made a career of deftly crossing party lines. Gov. Sebelius, a Catholic, also was born and grew up in Cincinnati. She graduated from Trinity Washington University in Washington D.C., before pursuing her master’s degree in public administration at the University of Kansas, in the state she would eventually call home.

Prior to being elected governor of the Sunflower State, Sebelius served eight years in the Kansas legislature and another eight years as the state’s tough, no-nonsense Insurance Commissioner. She was elected governor of Kansas in 2002 and reelected in 2006. Time Magazine has named her one of the five best governors in America.

Kathleen Sebelius will not dilute Barack Obama’s message of hope and change. She will enhance it. When the nation learns what Time magazine and Kansans already know, this wife, mother of two and very skilled executive will impress the American people the moment she steps onto the national stage. Go to www.governor.ks.gov and check out her credentials.

Needless to say, Sebelius is also a daughter. She is half of the only father-daughter governor duo in our nation’s history. Her maiden name was Gilligan. Her dad is John Joyce Gilligan, the former governor of Ohio.

Kevin Blaum is associate director of admission at Wyoming Seminary in Kingston where he also teaches government. Blaum spent 26 years as a Pennsylvania state legislator and was a Wilkes-Barre City Councilman. Reach him at kblaum@timesleader.com.

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