The likelihood that Kansas Gov. Kathleen Sebelius will be Barack Obama’s running mate is decreasing.

That’s not according to polls or pundits. It’s according to gamblers.

Political prognosticators who want to put their money where their mouths are can get odds of 9 to 1 that Sebelius, an early and enthusiastic supporter of Obama, will be tabbed as his running mate. So, anyone willing to wager $1 today would get a return of $9.

According to the website BetFair Sports, odds on Clinton on Tuesday were 5.3 to 1; U.S. Sen. Jim Webb was a 5.1 to 1 shot; and Arizona Gov. Bill Richardson, like Sebelius, is at 9 to 1. Former Democratic presidential candidate John Edwards was a 25 to 1 shot, and U.S. Sen. Dennis Kucinich, who also sought the nomination, was a longshot at a whopping 270 to 1. Odds on the website are constantly updated to reflect betting action.

Among gamblers, it appears Sebelius is losing steam. On Monday, she was drawing odds of 7.2 to 1, so she dropped nearly a full two points in just one day.

The Kansas GOP hopes those who wager on Sebelius collect their bets.

“The advantage of the Governor being Obama’s VP pick is that it would get her out of Kansas,” said Corrie Kangas, political director of the Kansas Republican Party.

Kangas said Rasmussen polls show that the selection of Sebelius actually would hurt Obama in Kansas, and she further pointed out that polls have consistently shown John McCain clobbering the Democrat in the state by more than 20 points.

“I don’t really see what she brings to the ticket,” Kangas said. Other polls have also shown that she doesn't add much to Obama's chances.

Kangas said she believed it was possible that Sebelius’ potential candidacy was dealt a blow with the revelation that Sebelius hosted a reception at Cedar Crest, the Governor’s mansion, for George Tiller, a late-term abortionist who was under investigation by the Attorney General’s Office.

“It’s certainly offensive to a lot of people when she’s selling Cedar Crest to the highest bidder,” Kangas said.

Sebelius has consistently maintained that she is not seeking a spot on the Obama ticket, though she has traveled extensively promoting his candidacy. Larry Gates, chair of the Kansas Democratic Party, has been quoted as saying he believed, while Sebelius would like to complete her second term, if Obama asked, she would run with him.

Her advocacy has made her a trendy pick among pundits.

Writing this week in Salon.com, influential columnist Camille Paglia said she believed Sebelius would be Obama's best choice.

"I've come to feel that Kansas Governor Kathleen Sebelius is Obama's best bet," Paglia wrote. "She is a polished public presence who epitomizes that cordial, smoothly reassuring, and blandly generic WASPiness that has persistently defined the American power structure in business and government and that has weirdly resisted wave after wave of immigration since the mid-19th century. An Obama-Sebelius pairing would be visually vibrant and radiant, like a new day dawning."

A Washington Post political blogger recently identified Sebelius as the best and most likely vice presidential candidate. Chris Cillizza described her attributes on a Washington Post political blog:

"The second-term Kansas governor earns the top spot because of her ability to further bolster Obama's strengths while not exacerbating his weaknesses. Picking Sebelius would affirm Obama's core message of change and would give Obama's run even more historic weight. Sebelius' electoral success in ruby red Kansas would also echo Obama's pledge to broaden the playing field in the fall and ensure that the party is competitive in every state. The one knock on Sebelius is the dearth of foreign policy credentials on her resume. But she has six years of strong executive experience and could be the kind of political partner Obama needs in the fall."

A well-known leftwing propagandist, filmmaker Michael Moore, is looking beyond the vice presidency to an even rosier future for Sebelius.

In an open letter to Hillary Clinton, Moore, who detests Clinton for her vote in favor of the Iraq war, wrote: “How sad for a country that wanted to see the first woman elected to the White House. That day will come -- but it won't be you. We'll have to wait for the current Democratic governor of Kansas to run in 2016 (you read it here first!).”

The Week in Review