If Obama really wants to break the mold of a traditional presidential ticket, the Kansas governor offers him the chance. The poster child for Democratic governors in traditionally Republican states, Sebelius is popular in Kansas for cutting waste and improving services, and even offers a family connection in the key swing state of Ohio, where her father John Gilligan served as governor in the '70s. But Kansas is a long way from the border, and the relatively low-profile Sebelius has no foreign policy or national security experience. Just as important, Hillary's supporters may take it as an insult for Obama to choose a woman who is not named Clinton.
By Massimo Calabresi, with reporting by James Downie/Washington